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THE 



COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS 
OF THE SEA; 

OR, 

MARINE CONTRIBUTIONS TO FOOD, 
INDUSTRY, AND ART. 

By p. L. SIMMONDS, 

n 

EDITOR OF "the JOURNAL OF APPLIED SCIENCE," AUTHOR OF " ANIMAL PRODUCTS AND 
THEIR USES," "a DICTIONARY OF TRADE PRODUCTS," "TROPICAL AGRICULTURE," 
AND OTHER WORKS. 

NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION. 

, b WITH THIRTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS. 



GRIFFITH AND FARRAN, 
WEST CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD, LONDON. 
E. P. DuTTON & Co., New York. 

V 





rights of transJatuvi and of reprodiicthn arc reserved^ 



PREFACE 



Having published a series of papers in the Art Journal, 
under the title of " Marine Contributions t6 Art," and some 
other articles on various products obtained from the Sea 
in my serial publications, The Technologist and The 
Journal of Applied Sciejice, it occurred to me that they 
might be conveniently collected into a volume, which 
would form a companion to books I had previously 
published on " The Commercial Products of the Vegetable 
Kingdom," and on "Animal Products : their Preparation 
and Uses." Hence the appearance of the present work, 
which, I believe, will supply a want, by furnishing accurate 
details respecting articles and products of considerable 
importance in a commercial point of view. 

Although some works have been published from time 
to time on special fisheries, none have treated the subject 
as a whole, or gone over the field of research in a systematic 
manner, so as to show the importance of the Commercial 
Products of the Sea to various countries. I have endea- 



iv Preface, 

voured to bring down the official statistics in the several 
chapters to the latest date, and therefore I trust the work 
may be found a useful and readable handbook for all 
those interested in marine productions. 

While I do not claim any merit for originality in this 
book, I may state that I have taken every pains to consult 
all published documents treating on the subject that have 
come under my notice, especially those issued in the United 
States and on the Continent, and also the official publica- 
tions printed by different Governments. 

As the book professes to deal only with the Products of 
the Sea, I have necessarily had to exclude much interesting 
matter relating to the River and Lake Fisheries of various 
countries. 

P. L. SIMMONDS. 

29, Cheapside, London, 
October, 1878. 



PUBLISHERS' NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

The widespread interest excited by the International Fisheries 
Exhibition has induced us to issue a New and Cheaper Edition of 
this work, which has ah-eady taken its place as a valuable collection 
of facts concerning marine contributions to food, industry, and art. 

The vast importance of our marine harvests, practically shown 
in the great Exhibition of 1883, is permanently recorded in the pages 
of this volume, which does for the library what the Exhibition does 
for the eye, viz. presents a complete survey of the commercial 
products of the sea. 

April, 1883. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



General Introduction ... ... ... ... ... i 

PART 1. 

'' FOOD PRODUCTS OBTAINED FROM THE SEA. 

CHAPTER 

" 1. The Cod Fishery in Various Countries ... ... ... 25 

II. The Herring Fishery ... ... ... ... 41 

^ HI. The Pilchard Fishery ... ... ... ... 61 

IV. The Mackerel Fishery ... ... ... ... ... 66 

V. The Salmon Fishery ... ... ... ... ... 73 

VI. The Sardine Fishery ... ... ... ... ... 77 

VII. The Tunny Fishery ... ... ... ... ... 83 

VIII. Crustacea ... ... ... ... ... ... 90 

IX. The Trepang Fishery ... ... ... 105 

X. Cephalopods, etc., as Food ... .... ... ... 116 

XI. Miscellaneous Fisheries ... ... ... ... 127 

XII. Oysters and other Edible Mollusca ... ... ... 131 



PART II. 

MARINE CONTRIBUTIONS TO INDUSTRY. 

L Introductory Remarks 

II. Sponge and the Sponge Fisheries . . . ■ 

III. The Sponge Fishery of the Bahamas 

IV. Sponge Fisheries of the Mediterranean 



151 
155 
174 
183 



vi 


Contents, 




CHAPTER 


PAGE 


V. 


Oils from Marine Mammals 


198 


VI. 


Fish Oils and the Fisheries connected therewith 


... 212 


VII. 


The Shark Fishery for the Oil obtained 


226 


V 111. 


The Isinglass of Commerce 


... 2^8 


IX. 


Other Fish Products and their Uses 


J 1 


X, 


Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells 


... 267 


XI. 


Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells — Continued ... 


265 


XII. 


Seaweed and its Uses ... ... ... 


... 311 


XIII. 


Marine Salt 


339 




"D A "D T* T T T 

rAKi ill. 






MARINE CONTRIBUTIONS TO ART. 




I. 


Tortoiseshell and the Turtle Fisheries 




II. 


Mother-of-Pearl and its Uses ... 


370 


III. 


Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries 


... 402 


IV. 


Coral and the Coral Fisheries .. . 


43^ 


V. 


Amber and the Amber Fisheries 


... 463 



Index 



479 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FIG. PAGE 

Coal- Fish ... ... ... ... 40 

1. Holothuridae species ... ... ... ... ... 107 

2. Palolo viridis ... ... ' ... ... ... ... 122 

3. Oysters ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 132 

4. Sponge showing the Outgoing Water-currents ... ... 156 

5. Outer Surface of different kinds of Sponge ... ... ... 166 

6. Cup-shaped Sponges in natural position, rooted to rock ..... 169 

7. Varieties, of Sponges ... ... ... ... ... 181 

8. Syrian Sponge Fishers ... ... ... ... ... 187 

9. Silicious Sponges, i. Euplectella aspergilkim. 2. Holtenia car- 

penteria ... ... ... ... ... ... 194 

10. Euplectella speciosa ... ... ... ... 196 

11. Phoca Groenlandica ... ... ... ... ... 200 

12. Phoca Oceanica ... ... ... 203 

13. Walrus ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 204 

14. Greenland or Right Whale, and Spermaceti Whale ... ... 206 

15. Black Porpoise (Phocsena vulgaris) ... ... .... ... 208 

16. Grampus (Phoc^na orca) ... ... ... ... 208 

17. Halicore Australis, and Manatus Americanus ... . ... 210 

18. The Sturgeon ... ... ... ... ... ... 240 

19. Chank Shell (Turbinella pyrum) ... ... ... ... 288 

20. Saw used by Natives for cutting Segments of the Shell ... 290 

21. Segment of Shell, and Bangle, or Ornamented Bracelet of United 

Segments ... ... ... ... ... ... 291 

22. I. Money Cowry. 2. Ovulum angulosum. 3. Dentalium Shell 

(Money of West Coast Indians). 4. Fillet of Nautilus Shells 

(from Samoa) ... ... ... ... ... ... 296 



VI 11 



List of Illustrations. 



IIG. PAGE 

23. Pinna nobilis, and Pinna rugosa ... ... ... ... 307 

24. Varieties of Seaweed ... ... ... ... ... 316 

25. Ulva latissima (Green Sloke), and Chondrus crispus (Carrageen 

Moss)... ... ■■• •- ■•• ■•• ... 319 

26. Hawksbill Turtle ... ... ... ... ... 352 

27. Green or Edible Turtle ... ... ... ... ... 364 

28. Diving for Pearl Shells at Panama ... ... ... 384 

29. Mother-of-Pearl Shell, and Anodonta herculae ... ... ... 411 

30. Corallium nobilis, or red Coral, with a piece magnified, showing 

the Polypes ... ... ... ... ... ... 437 

31. Varieties of Coral ... ... ... ... ... 440 



« 



THE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS 
OF THE SEA. 

GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

Importance of marine products — Uses of the animals — Number of species 
of fishes — French bounty on fisheries— Statistics of British fisheries — Fish 
as an article of food — Definition of "prime " and " offal " in the London 
market — Quantity of fish brought to London — Value of fish and other 
marine products imported — Value of exports — Statistics of British, French, 
and North American fisheries — French fisheries, and consumption of fish 
in Paris — Value of the trade in fish in foreign countries. 

The commercial products obtained from the sea are 
more numerous and important than would be generally 
supposed by those who have not looked closely into the 
subject. The huge marine mammals furnish us with valu- 
able oil, skins, whalebone, spermaceti, ambergris, etc., as 
well as food to some tribes. The utility of fishes, properly 
so called, to man is not very various. For the most part, 
they serve only as food ; but in this respect they are of the 
utmost importance to a great part of the human race, who 
live only on this class of animals. Some savage nations 
possess the art of preparing fish in a great variety of ways, 
even as a kind of flour and bread. Fish are also salted and 

B 



2 The Comme7xial Products of the Sea. 



dried, smoked and potted, preserved in oil, and pounded 
into a dry mass. 

In Catholic countries the consumption of fish during 
their fasts and festivals is very large ; all other food being 
then prohibited by their priests. 

To a great part of the civilized world the taking of the 
herring, the pilchard, the mackerel, the cod, the tunny, the 
salmon, the sardine, and other fishes is of great value, and 
gives employment to many hundreds of persons. The oil 
obtained from the shark, cod, herring, and other fish is 
used for lamps, medicine, and in industry. Many parts 
of fish are employed in the arts and manufactures — as 
the scales of the bleak for making false pearls, and those 
of other fish for making ornaments ; the skins for tanning 
and other purposes. Isinglass is obtained from the air or 
swimming bladders of many. Fish roes are not only used 
as food delicacies, but also for bait in the fishing grounds. 
Fish maws, shark's fins, and beche-de-mer or trepang (a 
species of Holothitria) are considered great food delicacies 
by the Chinese, forming the chief ingredients for their 
gelatinous soups. 

The sea is more abundantly stocked with living crea- 
tures than the land. In all parts of the world a rocky 
and partially protected shore perhaps supports, in a given 
space, a greater number of individual animals than any 
other station. The sea is filled with animals of several 
kinds, and each layer of water in depth seems to have its 
own varieties, thus resembling the changes which take 
place according to elevation in the organized portions of 
the land. 

The animals are among the mightiest and among the 
smallest. There are swimming beasts, as whales, seals, 
and walruses ; there are fishes of various kinds and sizes, 



General Introduction. 



3 



crustaceans, soft or jelly fishes, the molluscs, down to those 
creatures resembling live plants — the zoophytes or coral- 
lines, which partake of the qualities of plant, animal, and 
mammal. All these are peculiar to the sea or the fresh 
waters ; and the ocean has its marine plants — seaweeds, 
which remain growing on the ground shoals, or rise to the 
surface and then float. These, too, have many useful or 
economic applications. 

It is not our purpose to speak of the inhabitants of the 
ocean generally, but only to restrict the investigation 
to those which are of some use to man. 

Pliny enumerated but 94 species of fish ; Linnaeus in- 
creased the number to 478 ; but recent naturalists have 
described over 13,000 species, one-tenth of which confine 
themselves to the fresh waters. 

The human race derives almost incalculable benefits 
from them, as is evidenced by the extent and value of the 
river, coast, and sea fisheries of the world. 

The sea, as Commander Maury well observes, has its 
offices and duties to perform. So may its inhabitants ; con- 
sequently he who undertakes to study its phenomena must 
cease to regard it as a waste of waters. He must look 
upon it as a part of the exquisite machinery by which the 
harmonies of nature are preserved, and then he will begin 
to perceive the developments of order and the evidence of 
design, which make it a most beautiful and interesting 
subject for contemplation. 

The harvest of the sea has not yet been attended to 
and garnered to the same extent as the land. Some 
nations, as the Chinese, have, it is true, long given close 
attention to the profitable utilization of its commercial 
products, and several European nations and the Americans 
have also prosecuted certain fisheries ; but systematic 



4 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

and scientific management has only of late years been 
specially directed to the various branches which have been 
termed pisciculture, aquiculture, and ostreiculture, and the 
transfer of the fishes of one locality to those of another 
district. 

In respect of fish, no natural cause prevents their co- 
existence in the greatest abundance with man in his 
highest state of civilization and refinement, in the midst 
of the greatest agricultural or manufacturing opulence. 

Easily scared in the first instance by unusual sights — 
for it has been proved, by a series of curious and interesting 
experiments on the trout, that most kinds of fish are 
insensible to sounds — the natives of the water are speedily 
reconciled to appearances, which become habitual when 
found to be connected with no danger. 

' By all civilized and commercial nations — especially 
the Dutch, the English, the Americans, and the French — 
the products of the sea have been accounted fully as 
important as those of the land ; because they not only 
afi'ord cheap, nutritious, and abundant food for the 
people, but contribute largely, moreover, to the national re- 
sources, and to the maintenance of a maritime ascendancy. 
The Americans and French ofi"er bounties to their fisher- 
men, which of course tells against the fisheries in British 
America. 

France pays about 540,000 francs a year, averaging 
about £2 to each man engaged in the fishery. This is an 
expensive process, but it is alleged that it would cost twice 
as much to train an equal number of men for the navy in 
any other way. In 186 1 a French commission, appointed 
to inquire into the deep-sea fisheries, said in their report, 
" It is on fisheries that at this day repose all the most 
serious hopes of our maritime enlistments," and it was 



General Introduction. 



5 



added that "no other school can compare with this in 
preparing them so well, and in numbers so important, 
for the service of the navy." These bounties are also 
defended on the ground that the French pursue the cod 
fishery at a great disadvantage of distance, and from 
having no possessions in the neighbourhood except two 
rocky islets. 

The fishery question is of urgent consequence to the 
people generally. Our population is increasing rapidly ; 
cities and towns are gradually covering fields which used 
to be available for agriculture ; and although steam-farming 
is increasing the efficiency of husbandry labour, it cannot 
possibly augment the supply of home-grown food so 
rapidly as the bread-eaters increase in number. Fish is 
among the articles of diet which are too little familiarized 
among us, and any information ought to be welcomed 
which increases our knowledge of fishing grounds within 
reach of England. 

That the supply of fish is most abundant, and indeed 
inexhaustible, on all our coasts, has never been called 
in question. " The coasts of Great Britain," says Sir 
John Boroughs, "doe yield such a continued sea-harvest 
of gain and benefit to all those that with diligence doe 
labour in the same, that no time or season in the yeare 
passeth away without some apparent meanes of profitable 
employment, especially to such as apply themselves to 
fishing ; which from the beginning of the yeare unto the 
latter end, continueth upon some part or other of our 
coastes, and these in such infinite shoales and multitudes 
of fishes are offered to the takers, as may justly move 
admiration, not only to strangers, but to those that daily 
bee employed amongst them." That this harvest, ripe for 
gathering at all seasons of the year, without the labour of 



6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



tillage, without expense of seed or manure, without the 
payment of rent or taxes, is inexhaustible, the extraordi- 
nary fecundity of the most valuable species of fish would 
alone afford abundant proof 

In spite, however, of this large supply of whole- 
some, palatable, and nutritious food, yielded by the sur- 
rounding seas of Great Britain, every acre of which is 
infinitely more productive than the same quantity of the 
richest land ; notwithstanding that these salt-water fields 
are perpetually " white to the harvest," it is a remarkable 
fact that, in the inland and middle counties of England, the 
labouring classes scarcely know the taste of fish, which of 
late years has become a scarce article, even in some of the 
maritime counties. Formerly salmon, whilst in season, was 
the common food of all ranks in the northern counties 
bordering on the sea, and in most parts of Wales, and what 
could not be used fresh was salted for winter consumption ; 
there was scarcely a family in the neighbourhood of a sea- 
port or salmon fishery that did not lay up a supply of 
pickled salmon for the winter. 

The produce of the sea around our coasts bears a far 
higher proportion to that of the land than is generally 
imagined. The most frequented fishing grounds are much 
more prolific of food than the same extent of the richest 
land. Once in the year an acre of good land-earefully 
tilled produces a ton of corn, or two or three cwts. of meat 
or cheese. The same area at the bottom of the sea on 
the best fishing grounds yields a greater weight of food to 
the persevering fisherman every week in the year. Five 
vessels belonging to the same owner, in a single night's 
fishing, have brought in 17 tons weight of fish, an amount 
of wholesome food equal in weight to that of 50 cattle, 
or 300 sheep. The ground which these vessels covered 



General Introduction, 



7 



during the night's fishing could not have exceeded an area 
of 50 acres. 

Large as is the present supply of fish, and considerable 
the refuse of our fisheries as manure, much greater things 
are yet to be accomplished in this way, in both our supply 
of food, and of fertilizers for our land. The increasing 
scarcity and high price of butcher's meat leaves no doubt 
that a great field is open for the application of increased 
capital and skill to our sea-fisheries. Though the supply 
of fish to Billingsgate is constantly increasing, it fails to 
keep pace with the demand. The well-known fishing 
grounds of the North Sea are yet only partially fished. 
The Dogger Bank, which has an area of several hundred 
square miles, and is most prolific of fish, is to a great 
extent unworked by the trawlers, and new grounds are still 
being discovered where fish are found in great abundance. 
Between England and the continent the average depth of 
the German Ocean is 90 feet. One-fifth of it is occupied 
by banks, which are always being added to by the muddy 
deposits of the rivers of both countries. In extent they 
are equal to the superficial area of Ireland. To these 
banks the animals of the ocean chiefly resort, and this 
great and prolific field is free to the industry of all. 

It was stated by a recent writer in Blackwood's Maga- 
zine that no department of British industry has received 
such a remarkable impulse from railways as the sea- 
fisheries of the United Kingdom. They have, in fact, 
completely revolutionized it. Before the Eastern Counties 
Railway was constructed, the transport of fish from Yar- 
mouth to London was effected by light vans drawn by 
post-horses, and the quantity amounted to about 2000 tons 
a year. Nearly double that quantity is now conveyed to 
London and the great manufacturing towns in the course 



8 The Commercial Pj'oducts of the Sea. 

of a fortnight. During the year 1853, the annus mirabilis 
of the Yarmouth fishery, 12,000 tons of fresh herrings 
alone were despatched from that place to London and the 
provinces. At Grimsby the quantity of fish landed in 
1872, and transmitted by rail, averaged 600 tons a week, or 
at the rate of more than 31,000 tons a year. The pro- 
digious quantity of wholesome food now daily forwarded 
into the interior of the country from our principal fishing 
stations almost exceeds belief The station-master of 
Lowestoft informed the Royal Commission of 1864 that in 
the two preceding years he had often despatched from that 
town 100 truck-loads of fish a day, each truck containing 
from three to four tons. From 4000 to 5000 tons of her- 
rings, and 1000 tons of other fish, have been sent by rail- 
way from the town of Dunbar alone in the course of a 
single week into the interior of Scotland. Before this 
rapid mode of transport was invented, the consumption of 
fresh fish was restricted to the seaboard, the metropolis, 
and a few of the most considerable provincial towns. To 
the mass of our island population the red herring was the 
only representative of sea-fish which ever met their eyes ; 
now there is scarcely a hamlet in which the poor man's 
frugal dinner is not occasionally varied by a dish of fresh 
herrings or some other cheap fish, which the facilities of 
transit from the coast have brought to his door. The 
increase of fishing power brought of late years to bear 
upon the sea is equally remarkable. In 18 14 only five 
vessels were fitted out as deep-sea trawlers from Yarmouth, 
and not one from any other port of the United Kingdom. 
There cannot now be less, on the most moderate estimate, 
than 1000 sea-going trawlers, hailing from British ports 
and working in the North Sea, and certainly not less than 
300 in the English Channel, and 100 in the Irish Sea. For 



General Introduction. 



9 



many years there has been a gradual increase in the number 
of fishing smacks in every port of the United Kingdom. 

Fish, crayfish, and many other marine products form 
an easily digestible and pleasant food, which, it is main- 
tained, is also calculated to stimulate mental activity. 
Civilized nations cannot abstain from this important ali- 
ment without detriment to themselves. Fish, even without 
any elaborate dressing, form a good and easily prepared 
meal for the labouring classes. Their flesh contains as 
large an amount of protein as pork ; lOO lbs. of fish flesh 
contains as much nourishing matter as 200 lbs. of wheat 
bread or 700 lbs. of potatoes. It is an essential advantage 
of the fisheries that their products supply delicacies for the 
tables of the rich and wholesome cheap food for the poorer 
classes. 

According to calculations made some years ago, the 
daily consumption of fish per head amounted to one-seventh 
of a pound in London, one-twentieth of a pound in Paris, 
and one-fortieth of a pound in Berlin. 

The great importance of fish as an article of food may 
be clearly shown by a comparison of the total supply of 
fish to London in the course of a single year. At this time 
there are between 800 and 900 trawl vessels engaged in 
supplying the London market with fish ; and assuming 
the annual take for each to average 90 tons, this would 
give a total of some 8o,ocx) tons of trawled fish. This 
quantity is irrespective of the vast quantities of herrings, 
sprats, shell-fish, and descriptions of fish which are sup- 
plied by other modes of fishing. On the east coast of 
England, and in the London fish-market, the trade divide 
the fish into two classes — " prime " and " offal." The 
" prime " comprise sole, turbot, brill, and cod. The " offal " 
are chiefly haddock, plaice, and whiting. The term " offal " 



lo The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

seems to have been introduced when the demand for fish 
and the means of conveying it to market were much more 
limited than at present, and when it was therefore often 
found necessary to throw overboard much of the less 
valuable descriptions, which could not bear the cost of 
transport. The use of the word " offal " may now be held 
to signify the more plentiful and lower-priced class of fish, 
which finds its way in the greatest abundance to the large 
towns. The proportion of " prime " and " offal " fish caught 
by the trawl varies considerably, but may be taken at an 
average of one-fourth " prime " to three-fourths of " offal." 
Of "prime," the sole seems to be the general favourite. It 
is more eaten in London than any other description of 
" prime" fish, and during the summer a considerable supply 
is sent daily from the London fish-market to Paris. 

Notwithstanding the enormous increase which has 
taken place in the population of the metropolis during the 
last twenty years, it is very questionable if the weight of 
fish annually received has not actually diminished. The 
falling off in the supplies which reach us by water is very 
remarkable. In- 1848 it amounted to 108,739 tons; but 
in 1 87 1 it fell to 44,077 tons. This reduction has been 
gradual but continuous from year to year. The quantity 
brought to town by railway has, pn the other hand, in- 
creased, but hardly in the ratio of the diminution by water. 
There are no statistics of our fish supplies by rail available 
prior to 1865, but the quantity which reached us in this 
way in 1871 was 72,386 tons. The fish imports into 
London by water were in — 

Tons. 

1848 ... ... ... ... 108,737 

187I 44,077 

The total weight of fish brought to London by water 
and rail was in — 



General Introduction. 



1 1 



1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 



Tons. 
132,004 
122,523 
122,287 
113,782 

117,095 
116,463 



Our imports of fish from abroad have largely increased, 
as will be seen by the following figures, giving the value : — 



Of the imports in 1876, 966,119 cwt. — about one-third — 
was fresh fish not of British taking. 

We also imported in 1876 train oil or blubber to the 
value of £44.^,262, spermaceti or head matter valued at 
£2go,:^Sg, seal-skins value 19,540, making a total 
of ^2,415,135. This is exclusive of sardines, anchovies, 
caviare, oysters and shell-fish, pearls, mother-of-pearl, tor- 
toise-shell, coral, sponges, and other articles obtained from 
the fisheries, which would swell up the aggregate to over 
;^3,ooo,ooo of products obtained from the sea. 

We exported in that year, of British produce : — 

Salmon to the value of ... ... ... £39,08^ 

Cod and ling ,, ... ... ... 44,383 

Herrings „ ... ... ... 732,737 

Pilchards ,, ... ... ... 19,222 

Unenumerated ,, ... ,.. ... 67,332 

Oysters ... ... ... 50,047 



In the last quarter of a century the Irish fisheries have 
declined by fully one-half in the number of boats and men 
employed. In 1870 there were stated to be under 9,000 
vessels and boats, and 38,000 men and boys. Owing to 
the numerous indentations, the coast line of Ireland is 



1856 
1866 
1876 



^228,075 
631,552 
1,459,974 



^952,804 



1 2 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

estimated at upwards of 2500 miles. The length along 
which the more important herring and mackerel fisheries 
are carried on does not, however, exceed 250 miles, and the 
value of the capture of these — ;£"3 30,000 — amounts to fully 
two-thirds of all the fish taken around the coast. When,^ 
therefore, it is considered that on the remaining 2250 miles 
of coast not more than i^i 50,000 of fish is taken, it will be 
understood why an equal amount of cured fish has to be 
imported from America and other foreign countries. 

The latest official report on the Irish fisheries shows 
that, exclusive of the home consumption in 1876, fish 
were shipped to England to the value of ^504,719, thus 
divided : — 

Herrings ... ... ... £22'j,<^go 

Mackerel ... ... ... 111,266 

Cod ... ... ... ... 165,463 

;^504>7i9 

The number of craft of all kinds engaged off Ireland 
in fishing for sale, in 1876, was returned at 5965, with 
crews of 22,773 men and 920 boys. In Scotland, in the 
same year, the number of boats was 14,547 of 106,440 tons, 
with crews of 45,263, and there were as many more other 
persons employed as curers, coopers, etc. The value of 
the boats was estimated at ;^455,8ii, of the nets ^563,811, 
and of the lines ^108,347, making a total of ;^ 1,1 27,994. 

We have official annual reports respecting the fisheries 
of Ireland and Scotland; but the collection of returns for 
England was discontinued with 1850, at the same time 
that the branding and punching of the barrels of cod and 
ling ceased. We are not able, therefore, to form any very 
accurate estimate of the extent and progress of the coast 
fisheries for England and Wales. 

The immense value of the fisheries of British North 



General Introduction. 



13 



America will be seen by a glance at the following figures. 
About 1000 decked vessels and 17,000 open boats are 
engaged in fishing within the four provinces of Nova 
Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario ; for the 
other parts of the Canadian Dominion we have no authentic 
details. 42,000 men are actually engaged in fishing, while 
200,000 persons are estimated to be supported almost 
entirely by this industry in its various branches. The 
annual produce of the fishery of these four provinces is 
about ;^2,ooo,ooo, and the boats, nets, and other instru- 
ments represent a capital of over ;^6oo,ooo. In Nova Scotia 
alone there are 9500 vessels and boats engaged in the 
fisheries, valued at i^2 10,000, manned by 19,000 men, with 
nets, etc., to the value of £\ 14,000. 

The fisheries are not only of importance to us in con- 
sequence of the vast amount of wealth that can be drawn 
from the deep, apparently without diminution, or exhaust- 
ing its source, but because by this means a body of able 
and hardy seamen may be found to conduct the commerce 
of a maritime country during peace, and to become its 
gallant defenders on the ocean in time of war. This inex- 
haustible source of national wealth and greatness appertains 
in an especial manner to the British Possessions in the 
northern hemisphere, and has long excited the rivalry of 
the citizens of the New England States, who are aided by 
bounties granted by the general Government. 

The Atlantic fishing ground situated in British waters 
reaches from the Bay of Fundy along the southern coast 
of Nova Scotia, around Cape Breton and Prince Edward 
Island, and embracing the Bay of Chaleur, extends to the 
Island of Anticosta and Newfoundland, the coast of 
Labrador, and the Magdalen Islands. There is probably 
no part of the world where such extensive and valuable 



14 The Commercial Prodttds of the Sea. 



fisheries are to be found, as within the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence. Nature has bountifully provided within its waters 
the utmost abundance of those fish which are of the 
greatest importance to man, as affording not only nutri- 
tious and wholesome food, but also the means of profitable 
employment. These fisheries are prosecuted as well in the 
open waters of the gulf, as within every bay, harbour, creek, 
cove, and inlet in connection with it. 

Quebec possesses, in the river and gulf of St. Lawrence, 
an extent of coast of looo miles, where the cod, herring, 
mackerel, salmon, and other fisheries are carried on suc- 
cessfully. In the men that sail the fishing fleets of 
British North America, we see the elements of a very 
powerful marine, which will be found invaluable in times of 
national danger. 

The following figures show the value of the exports 
only, the produce of the fisheries of our North American 
colonies for the year 1873 : — 



Canada ... ... ... ... 54,992 

New Brunswick ... ... ... 70,823 

Nova Scotia ... ... ... 717,301 

Prince Edward Island ... ... 2CK), 100 

British Columbia ... ... ... 406,000 

Newfoundland ... ... ... 1,631,086 



;^3, 180,302 

In the previous year it was 1,000,000 more, without 
British Columbia, of which the return was not given. This 
return merely assumes the market value of the products in 
the colonies ; but in the foreign markets to which they are 
sent they will realize a fourth or a fifth more, and this, be it 
observed, is exclusive of the large local consumption of fish, 
oil, etc. 

Boston is the fish-market of the United States ; and 



General Introduction. 



15 



the product of the New England fishery is estimated at 
;^i,6oo,ooo yearly, of which Boston alone handles more 
than half 

At the Cape of Good Hope fish forms the principal 
article of the food of the population, and the poorer classes 
live almost entirely on it, its price being lower than in 
almost all other civilized countries. 

It is difficult, nay, almost impossible to form an estimate 
of the probable consumption of fish within the colonial 
borders. Judging, however, from the great quantities used 
in a dried, pickled, and smoke-dried state, as an article of 
internal trafiic, and taking into consideration that fish is 
almost the chief food of the lower orders in Cape Town and 
the other ports, the consumption must necessarily be very 
considerable. 

The principal foreign market for the fish trade of South 
Africa is the Mauritius, the exports of dried fish to that 
colony being from 2000 to 2500 tons annually, of the value 
of ^30,000. The average import of fish at the Mauritius 
in the three years ending 1870 was about 44,000 cwt. 
There are also fisheries carried on from the island, for in 
1870 there were 329 fishery works, and at Rodriguez z[4, 
employing 90 boats and 193 men. 

At Ceylon the imports of fish are about 77,000 cwt. 
annually, and at Singapore about 40,000 cwt. of dried and 
salted fish are imported yearly. 

On the coasts of some of the Indian presidencies there 
are extensive fisheries. 

How many a locality in the Indian Ocean is there to 
which the lines of Milton are applicable ! — where 

" Each creek and bay 
With fry innumerable swarm, and shoals 
Of fish, that with their fins and shining scales 
Glide under the green waves ; . . . 



1 6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

. . . part single, or with mate 

Graze the seaweed, their pasture, and through groves 

Of coral stray ; or sporting, with quiet glance 

Show to the sun their wav'd coats draped with gold. " 

The Chinese are pre-eminently a fish-eating people, 
and the vast demand for fish there can only be supplied 
by artificial means. The shad is called by the Chinese 
" sam-li ; " it is of superior flavour and great size, and is 
produced by artificial means and conveyed in " congs," 
large vessels made of coarse earthenware, to all parts of the 
empire. 

It has been supposed that nearly a tenth of the popula- 
tion of China derive their means of support from the 
fisheries. Hundreds and thousands of boats crowd the 
whole coasts, sometimes acting in communities, sometimes 
independent and isolated. There is no species of craft by 
which a fish can be inveigled which is not practised with 
success in China. Every variety of net, from vast seines, 
embracing miles, to the smallest hand-filet, in the care of a 
child ; fishing by night and fishing by day ; fishing in 
moonlight, by torchlight, and in utter darkness ; fishing in 
boats of all sizes ; fishing by those who are stationary on 
the rock by the seaside, and by those who are absent for 
weeks on the wildest of seas ; fishing by cormorants ; 
fishing by divers ; fishing with lines, with baskets — by 
every imaginable decoy and device. There is no river 
which is not staked to assist the fisherman in his craft. 
There is no lake, no pond, which is not crowded with fish. 
A piece of water is nearly as valuable as a field of fertile 
land. At daybreak every city is crowded with sellers of live 
fish, who carry their commodity in buckets of water, saving 
all they do not sell to be returned to the pond or kept for 
another day's service. 



Gene7^al Introduction. 



17 



In the port of Okhotz, Siberia, fish is almost the only 
food of the inhabitants, flour and groceries being unheard- 
of luxuries, and meat very scarce. Even the cattle and 
poultry are fed on fish. 

The general idea that the Southern Australian seas are 
inferior in piscatory resources to the colder waters of 
Europe seems to be wholly unfounded. At proper seasons 
of the year, and when reasonable precautions have been 
taken and the close months observed, the creeks and 
estuaries are leaping with fish. 

In Victoria, not only around the great inland sea-lake 
of Port Phillip, for the sustenance of the crowded popula- 
tion of the capital, but in outlying ports and sequestered 
coves, families, singly and in clusters, draw their whole 
subsistence from the fisheries. The total number of fishing 
boats belonging to the Hobson's Bay district amounts to 
nearly 500, and all of them are busily employed. 

Let us glance briefly at the statistics of the value of 
some of the principal fisheries. The Norwegian fisheries 
bring in to the hardy Northerners not less than ^3,200,000 
per annum, a magnificent sum for a country possessing a 
population of barely 2,000,000 souls. In Russia the pro- 
ducts of the fisheries are estimated at ;^3, 500,000 ; in 
Denmark they bring in about 60,000; and the value of 
those of France reach about ;^3, 500,000. 

The take of the French fisheries for 1873 was thus 
officially returned : — 

Francs. 

Cod fishery, Iceland ... ... 6,719,774 

Newfoundland ... 9,981,547 

Herring fishery ... ... ... 9,401,307 

Mackerel „ ... ... ... 3^483,343 

Sardine „ ... ... ... 13,757,534 

Anchovy ... ... ... 469,695 

Carried forward .. 43,813,200 

C 



1 8 The Commercial P^^oducts of the Sea. 



Other species 
Oysters ... 
Mussels ... 
Other shell-fish .. 
Crustaceans 
Line fishery 

78,331,364 = ;^3,i33,254 

Besides seaweed and sand as officially valued at ;^6o,ooo. 

The French fisheries gave employment to the follow- 
ing :— 

Cod fishery of 
Newfoundland 



and Iceland. Coast fishery. 

Vessels and boats ... 420 iQjS^S 

Tonnage ... ... 54,622 101,488 

Men employed ... 11,965 65,501 



Out of a gross return of 80,000,000 francs the coast 
fisheries brought in over 63,000,000 francs. 

Both in the home and foreign fisheries many improve- 
ments have been carried out of late years in boats, nets, 
and appliances. In 1873 a great improvement was effected 
in France by the introduction of capstans worked by steam 
for hauling in the nets. Steam vessels are also now 
employed in fishing operations at Teste, Rochelle, and 
other ports. 

The sale of fish in the Paris markets in 1854 was to the 
value of 7,500,000 francs (;^300,ooo), of which about 
1,000,000 francs was for fresh-water fish. In i860 the sales 
reached about 10,000,000 francs. Paris consumed the 
following quantities of fresh-water fish, etc. : — 



1854- 1877. 

lbs. lbs. 

Eels 230,440 328,000 

Barbel 23,870 23,826 

Bream 34,160 94>i 76 

Pike 325*840 354,232 

Carried forward ... 800,234 



it forward 



Francs. 
43,813,200 
25,878,896 

1,95^*334 
817,211 
485,478 
2,285,458 
3,094,787 



4 





h-eneral Jntroauchon. 






1854 


1877, 




lbs. 


lbs. 




Brought forward 


800,234 


Smelts 




.. 290,454 


Gudgeon . . 


40,000 


39,060 


Lampreys . . 


1.756 


286 


Perch 


17,870 


28,738 


Tench 


66,880 


.. 154,674 


Trout 




r T 

5,128 


Various small white fish 252,480 


.. 1,157,434 


Crabs 


182,988 


.. 328,008 


Snails 




190,284 


Frogs 




22,562 






3,016,862 



— valued at 1,500,000 francs. 

There was also sold of sea-fish at the central markets, 
31,489,202 lbs., valued at 13,191,845 francs, together a 
total of over ^^634,000 sterling. 

The consumption of other fish was stated in 1854 to 
have been of — 



Preserved fish. lbs. 

Sardines ... ... ... ... 510,000 

Tunny ... ... .. ... 22,000 

Anchovies... .. ... ... 90,000 



622,000 

Salted fish. lbs. 

Codfish in casks ... ... ... 2,156,000 

dried ... ... ... 4,000 

Salted herrings ... ... .. 176,000 

Smoked ... ... ... 300,000 

Mackerel ... ... ... ... 366,600 

Salmon ... ... ... ... 1,440 



3,004,040 

The sale of these has, however, more than doubled in the 
last quarter of a century. 

It is not possible to form an accurate estimate of the 
extent or value of the fisheries and the products of the 
fisheries in various countries. But as regards our own 



20 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



special commerce, we have some few official figures to work 
upon. Taking the latest year for which full and complete 
returns are given, we find that the imports into the United 
Kingdom reach over ;^6,ooo,ooo in value. Guano is in- 
cluded because it is a deposit of sea-birds, and may, there- 
fore, be considered to some extent a product of the sea. 

The exports of fish of British catch in 1874 were valued 
at ;^ 1, 077,065, and if we add the export of salt for the 
fisheries, fishing nets, hooks and lines, sails and cordage, 
and other supplies, we shall have fully a value of 500,000. 

The great city of Amsterdam and the present unsur- 
passed seaport of Liverpool arose from the industry and 
enterprise of a few fishermen, who found those spots con- 
venient for their dwellings and pursuits — a fact of history 
thus poetically recorded : — 

" Where Mersey's stream, long winding o'er the plain, 
Pours his full tribute to the circling main, 
A band of fishers chose their humble seat, 
Contented labour blest their fair retreat. 
Inured to hardships, patient, bold, and rude, 
They braved the billows for precarious food ; 
Their straggling.huts were ranged along the shore, 
Their nets and little boats their only store. 
But now perceive the alter'd prospect round, 
Where splendid tracts of opulence are found ; 
Yet scarce two hundred annual rounds have run 
Since first the fabric of this power begun. 
His noble stream inglorious Mersey roll'd, 
Nor felt his waves by labouring art control'd ; 
Along his sides a few small cots were spread. 
His finny brood their humble tenants fed ; 
At opening dawn, with fraudful nets supplied, 
The paddling skiff would brave the specious tide, 
Ply round the shores, nor tempt the dangerous main, 
But seek ere night the friendly port again. " 



General Introduction, 



21 



Value of the Imports of Products of the Fisheries into 
THE United Kingdom in 1870. 

We give the statistics of this year, as it is the latest 
for which details have been furnished by the Board of 
Trade. None of the minor articles are now enumerated 
in the official trade returns : — 



Fish 




Brought forward . . . 


;^2,36i,483 


Isinglass ... 


83,023 


Sponge 


160,162 


Mother-of-pearl shells . 


76,489 


Tortoise and turtle shell 


33^926 


Oil, cod-liver... 


64,157 


Coral, rough ... 


5,681 


whale 


890,553 


,, beads ... 


9,917 


Whale fins 


79,482 


Cowries 


6,347 


Orchella weed 


112,693 


Caviare 


1,670 


Pearls 


16,675 


Guano 


3,476,680 
i:6,o55,866 


Seal-skins 


270,024 




Carried forward . 


. ;^2, 361,483 







If we could trace the wealth of nations arising from 
their fisheries, it would be found to be beyond calculation. 

The following gives the foreign trade in fish of different 
countries : — 



Russia : Imports, 1874 — Herrings 


barrels 


430,430 


Exports — Caviare 


lbs. 


106,989 


Norway : Exports, 1874 — 






Anchovies 


dunkers 


102,933 


Dried fish 


... cwt. 


383,830 


Fresh fish ... value in 


specie dollar, 4.S. 6d. 


50,836 


Spring herrings 


tonders of 3 bushels 


17,784 


Other herrings 




919,539 


Klipfish (dried cod) 


... cwt. 


599,576 


Other salted fish ... 


tonders 


69,424 


Lobsters 


thousands 


749 


Seal-skins 


No. 


95,356 


Train oil 


tonders 


103,365 


Sweden : Imports, 1874 — 






Herrings 


cubic feet 


1,163,560 



22 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



Spain : Imports, 1875 — 

Codfish ... 
Italy: Imports, 1875— 

Fish of all sorts ... 
United States : Exports, 1875 — 

Fish, dry, pickled, etc. 
France : Produce of the Fisheries in 1876 
Algeria: Exports, 1876 — 



... tons 38,388 

... tons 41,918 

... value ^601,750 
... value ;,{^3,56o, 000 
... value ;^240,ooo 



PART I. 

FOOD PRODUCTS OBTAINED FROM 
THE SEA. 



CHAPTER 1. 



THE COD FISHERY IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES. 



The cod fishery of Scotland — The Grand Bank fishery, Newfoundland — 
Bultow fishing described — Preparing the fish — The Norway fishery — Lofo- 
den fishery — Iceland — Consumption in the French colonies — Fishery at 
St. Pierre and Miquelon. 

One of the most important of the sea-fisheries, whether 
regard be had to the size of the fish or the number taken, 
is that for the cod. This fishery is carried on not only 
around the shores of the British Islands, but is prosecuted 
on a very extensive scale on the shores of Newfound- 
land and other coasts of the Atlantic, in Norway, Iceland, 
and other quarters. 

The cod {Gadtts morrhud) abounds between 40° and 
60° N. lat. It is essentially a sea-fish, and is never met 
with in fresh waters, preferring the depths of the sea, which 
it only quits to spawn on the coasts or the banks. 

The following return for the last ten years shows the 
average take of codfish in Scotland, at least as far as 
regards the quantity cured : — 

Dried. Pickled, 
cwt. barrels. 

1867 119,638^ 10,819 

1868 1 13.831 ... . 9,659 

1869 135,5851 10,319 

1870 145,2881 9,945 

1871 119,030 9,283 



26 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



Dried, 
cwt. 



Pickled, 
barrels. 



1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 



145,9761 

i6o,7i6| 
143,466^ 
187,7881 
111,457 



11,9401 
i2,38ii 
6,754 
8,5031 
6,109 



The number of cod, ling, and hake taken in Scotland in 
1876 was 3,454,198. 59,816 cwt. of dried fish were ex- 
ported, being rather more than half the cure ; but this was 
22,000 cwt. below the export of the previous year. 

The cod fishery on the Irish coast commences in the 
lough opposite Moville, about the ist of October, and ends 
about the ist of July. They move out, and as the weather 
settles in spring, the fishermen follow them eight miles 
or more, and finally twenty miles out to Hamden Bank. 

Newfoundland may be said to have a monopoly of the 
cod fishery, and the market is every day increasing. All 
tropical people like codfish, and must have it, and there- 
fore, if the colonists could obtain 5,000,000 tons, they 
could not supply the demand in future ages. 

The roe of a cod contains 2,000,000 eggs, and if all 
these came to maturity, one cod would fill the ocean in 
a few years ; but though countless millions perish, if we 
do not violate the law of nature by destroying the mother 
or breeding fish, we cannot lessen the quantity. 

The Grand Bank appears to be the great breeding 
ground of the species, and the finest fish is caught there. 
The quantity of codfish annually taken from the banks 
and shores of Newfoundland, and the coasts of Labrador, 
on the average of years, may be stated to be as follows : — 



By the Americans 

,, French 
By British subjects 



Cwt. 

1,500,000 
1,000,000 
1,500,000 



— worth about 15^. or i6s. a cwt. 



4,000,000 



The Cod Fishery in Variotts Countries. 27 

Taking the annual catch on the banks and along the 
shores at 2,750,000 cwt, and averaging 50 codfish to the 
cwt, it is estimated that there are drawn from the waters 
around Newfoundland 137,500,000 codfish in a year. 
Besides the fish, the oil obtained from the cod forms also 
a considerable item in the business. About one hogshead 
of oil is produced from every five tons of fish. 

The bultow is a long line, with hooks fastened along 
its whole length, at regular distances, by shorter and 
smaller cords, called " snoods," which are six feet long, 
and are placed on the long line 12 feet apart, to 
prevent the hooks becoming entangled. Near the hooks, 
these shorter lines, or snoods, are formed of separate 
threads, loosely fastened together, to guard against the 
teeth of the fish. Buoys, buoy-ropes, and anchors or 
grapnels are fixed to each eiid of the line ; and the lines 
are always laid, or as it is termed " shot," across the tide, 
for if the tide runs upon the end of the line the hooks, 
will become entangled, and the fishing will be wholly lost. 
For the deep-sea fishery the bultow is of great length. 

The French fishing vessels, after anchoring on the 
bank, in about 45 fathoms of water, run out about 100 
fathoms of cable, and prepare to catch cod with two lines, 
each 3000 fathoms in length. The snoods are arranged as 
previously described, and the hooks being baited, the lines 
are neatly coiled in half-bushel baskets, clear for running 
out. The baskets are placed in two strong-built lugsail 
boats, and at three o'clock in the afternoon both make 
sail together, at right angles from the vessel on opposite 
sides. When the lines are run out straight, they are sunk 
to within two feet of the bottom. At daybreak next 
morning, the boats proceed to trip the sinkers at the ex- 
tremities of the lines, and while the crew of each boat are 



28 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 

hauling in line and unhooking fish, the men on board 
heave in the other end of the lines with a winch. In this 
way 400 of the larger bank cod are commonly taken in 
a night. The fish are cleaned and salted on board, and 
stowed in the hold in bulk ; the livers to be boiled for oil 
are put in large casks, secured on deck. 

The French vessels engaged in this fishery are from 
1 50 to 300 tons burthen ; they arrive on the Grand Bank 
early in June, and on the average complete their cargoes 
in three months. 

The bultow mode of fishing is wholly used by the French 
on the banks, and the large vessels have over five or six 
miles of lines and 6500 hooks lying at the bottom at a 
time. The shore fishery is prosecuted by hook and line, 
either in whale-boats or flats. 

The bultow is considered very injurious, in destroying 
what the fishermen call the mother fish, that is, the female 
fish near the time of depositing their spawn, when they are 
very torpid and careless in seeking food, which at this 
period they do always on the bottom, when the bultow 
hooks are laying ready baited to entrap them. It is but 
seldom that these fish are caught in the common way, with 
hook and line, and it is a wise provision of Providence that 
the cod is so prolific, otherwise the bultow system would 
almost destroy the species. Leuwenhock counted 9,384,000 
eggs of spawn in a cod of middling size, and Hanmer 
3,686,750 in one that weighed 12,540 grains. 

The moment a fish is taken ofi" the hook it should be 
bled. This may be done by the person who is employed 
in taking it off the hook. The fish must then be headed, 
split up, and gutted, — in doing which, the sound should be 
carefully preserved for cure. The fish should then have the 
bone removed, care being taken that it shall be cut away 



The Cod Fishery in Various Countries. 29 

to within 20 or 22 joints of the tail, not directly across 
but by the splitter pointing the knife towards the tail, 
and cutting the bone through the two joints at once, in 
a sloping direction, so as to leave the appearance of the 
figure 8. This looks best, and it has this advantage, that 
the fish are not mangled, as they are apt to be when the 
bone is cut square through one joint. A slight incision 
should also be made along all the adhering part of the 
bone, to allow any remaining blood to escape, and the 
splitter should then drop his fish into clean water. The fish 
should be then thoroughly washed in the sea from all im- 
purities ; but where this cannot be so immediately accom- 
plished, they should be dropped instantly into a large tub 
or vat full of sea water, where they should be carefully 
washed, and the water should be poured out of it when it 
gets foul, and fresh water supplied. Care must be taken to 
remove the black skin that adheres to the laps of the fish. 

If these operations cannot all be performed on board 
the fishing craft immediately after capture, the fish, upon 
being taken ofi" the hook and immediately bled, which is 
absolutely essential, should be put into boxes, or some con- 
venience, to keep them from exposure to the air, and from 
being trampled on, which would be extremely hurtful to 
them. But it may be again repeated, that the more of the 
above operations that can be performed immediately after 
capture, the better. If the salting can be done on board 
the craft, it will be of the greatest advantage, as the sooner 
the fish are in salt after they are taken out of their native 
element, the greater is the chance that their cure will be 
successful. But, whether cured at sea or on shore, they 
ought in no case to be permitted to remain a longer period 
before being laid in salt than 48 hours. 

When cured on shore, the cod is flung from the fisher- 



30 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

man's boat upon the rough stage, where it is received by the 
"cut-throat," who, with a sharp knife, lays open the fish across 
the throat and down the belly, and passes it to the header. 
This operator proceeds to extract the liver, which is dropped 
into a vessel by his side, to be converted into cod-liver oil. 
He then extracts the entrails and wrenches off the head, 
and throws these into another receptacle, to be preserved for 
the farmer, to mix with bog and earth, thus forming a most 
fertilizing compost for his fields. The tongues, however, 
are taken out, and also the sounds, and these, fresh or 
pickled, are an excellent article of food. The fish is then 
passed to the splitter, who, by a dexterous movement, cuts 
out the backbone nearly to the tail, and thus lays the fish 
entirely open, and capable of being laid flat on its back. 
This is the nicest part of the operation, and the splitter 
always commands higher wages than the rest of the opera- 
tors. The Salter next takes the fish and washes it well 
from all particles of blood, salts it, and places it in piles to 
drain. After laying the proper length of time it is washed, 
and spread to dry on the " flake," which is formed of spruce 
boughs, supported by a framework resting on upright poles. 
Here the cod are spread out individually to bleach by ex- 
posure to sun and air, and during this process require con- 
stant attention. At night, or on the approach of rain, they 
are made up into little round heaps, with the skin outward, 
in which state they look very much like small haycocks. 
When the " bloom," or whitish appearance, which for a time 
they assume, comes out on the dried fish, the process is 
finished, and then they are quite ready for storing. On 
being conveyed to the premises of the exporting merchant, 
they are first " culled," or assorted, into four different kinds, 
known as "Merchantable," "Madeira," "West India," and 
" Dun," or broken fish. The first is the best quahty, the 



The Cod Fishery in Various Countries. 31 

second a grade lower, the third is intended for the stomachs 
of negroes, and the fourth, which is incapable of keeping, is 
used at home. 

Dun fish are prepared in the following manner :- - 
They are caught early in spring, and often in February. 
The cod are taken in deep water, split, and slack salted ; 
then laid on a pile for two or three months in a dark 
store, covered for the greatest part of the time with salt 
hay, or grass, and pressed with some weight. In April or 
May they are opened and piled again as close as possible 
in the same dark store till July or August, when they are 
fit for use. 

The cod sent to hot countries are packed by screw 
power into small casks called drums ; " those which go to 
the Mediterranean are usually exported in bulk. Large 
quantities of dried codfish are shipped to Brazil, and there 
is hardly an inhabited corner of that vast empire where the 
Newfoundland cod is not to be found, being carried on the 
backs of mules from the seacoast into the most distant 
provinces of the interior. The negroes of the West Indies 
welcome it as a grateful addition to their vegetable diet. 
To all parts of the Mediterranean it finds its way ; Italians, 
Greeks, and Sicihans equally relishing the produce of the 
sea harvest. The Spaniards and Portuguese are our best 
customers, and all over the sunny peninsula the " bucalo " 
is a standing dish. In the warmer regions of the earth the 
people seem to have a special liking for the dried and 
salted cod, and to them it is an almost indispensable article 
of food. 

The air bladder, or as it is called, cod's sound, which 
consists almost entirely of pure gelatine, sells at a high rate 
in any market into which it has been introduced. Cod's 
tongues and sounds form, even at present, a considerable 



32 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



export from the ports of the States and the British-American 
colonies on the Atlantic. 

Norway possesses a long and much-indented coast, 
which furnishes a large part of the fish consumed in 
England. The most valuable Norwegian fisheries are in 
the extreme north, near the Lofoden Islands, and within 
the Arctic circle. The great fisheries, and those of most 
interest to all Englishmen, are the deep-sea fisheries for cod 
and herrings, which constitute the most important branch 
of industry practised in Norway. The annual produce of 
these amounts to a million of money, and they give employ- 
ment to from 20,000 to 30,000 men, and from 5000 to 6000 
vessels. The cod are caught in two ways, with nets, in the 
English fashion, and with lines. The lines, or rather cables, 
are 1000 fathoms long, and are supported in each case by a 
buoy, and secured by anchors to prevent their drifting. 
Each line is furnished with 1200 hooks, at distances of five 
feet from each other, each hook being on a separate hook- 
line of about a fathom in length. The lines are set at 
night and taken up in the morning. The fish are not 
salted, but are merely gutted and hung up in pairs upon 
poles, to be dried in the wind, and when thus cured they 
are exported in large quantities, under the name of round 
or stock-fish. The great cod fishery ends in April. 

The number of cod caught in 1869 amounted to 
20,700,000, of which about 12,000,000 were salted and pre- 
pared as klipfish (baccalau), and about 7,800,000 were 
hung up to dry as round-fish (stock-fish) ; the remainder, 
about 900,000, were cured for home consumption. 

The produce of the fishery in 1870 consisted of 
16,456,000 fish, equal to about 8800 tons when dried. 
Besides this, there were secured 21,500 barrels of cod oil, 
and 6000 barrels of cod roe. 



The Cod Fishery in Va7dous Countries. 33 

The fishermen pay great attention to the curing. The 
fish is neatly packed in boxes with the fins trimmed off. 

The extensive fishing bank which is periodically visited 
by the cod, stretches from Rost, a low group of islands 
forming the south-westernmost range of the Lofoden chain 
of islands, up to the very head of the West Fiord ; a distance 
of about 70 English miles. 

The number of boats engaged is nearly 6000, of which 
one-fifth have nets, and the remainder lines and deep-sea 
lines. The latter are of various lengths, supported on the 
surface by floats, with a buoy at each end. From this float- 
ing line, numerous baited lines are suspended at regular 
distances. There are also about 400 vessels of various 
kinds usually assembled, partly for fishing, but chiefly for 
purchasing fish as they are brought in. 

The boats engaged in fishing with nets are from 36 
to 40 feet long, and nine to ten feet wide, with a depth 
of not more than three feet. They are provided with 
only a single mast, about 24 feet high, carrying one large 
square sail. But each boat has as well 10 or 12 oars, by 
means of which her sturdy crew can propel her against an 
adverse wind. For fishing with lines, smaller ships, mostly 
boats, are used. The crew usually consist of five men and 
a boy. 

In the month of December, the first shoals of cod 
usually begin to appear on the western banks of the islands, 
arriving from the open sea. These are soon followed by 
great masses of fish. But as these western outside shores 
are shallow, the ports few, and the whole coast exposed 
to the frequent fury of the North Sea, not more than from 
600 to 800 boats venture on the hazards of this early fish- 
ing, and the take seldom exceeds 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 
of fish. 

D 



34 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

In the mean time the inhabitants of the inner or eastern 
side, protected from northerly winds, and favoured with 
many bays of refuge, examine their shores day by day with 
baited hooks, to discover if the precursors of the dense 
shoals of cod have yet appeared in the West Fiord, and 
great is the public exultation when the joyful news of their 
arrival is announced. This important event takes place 
generally in the latter end of December, but not before the 
middle of January do the fish arrive in great masses. 

Codfish are taken by the Lofoden fishermen by three 
methods : — (i) with hand lines ; (2) with set lines ; and 
(3) with nets. 

Hand lines requiring little capital and producing small 
results, are only employed by the poorest fishermen. These 
are satisfied with 50 fish to each man per day, although 
occasionally they will capture double that number. They 
bait with herrings, salt or fresh, and when these are all 
gone, with the roe of the fish they have caught. Sometimes, 
when the shoals of cod are very thick and dense, the men 
adopt another method also, with a single line requiring no 
bait. Providing themselves with a long cord, armed with a 
large and sharp hook at its extremity, they sink it into the 
swarming masses below, having first attached to it, a couple 
of feet above the hook, small fishes of tin, for the purpose of 
attracting the cod by their glitter. The fishermen then jerk 
the hook sharply upwards, occasionally securing a curious 
fish, though cruelly wounding many others that are not 
taken. 

Set-line fishing requires larger apparatus : a boat, a 
crew, and from 500 to 3000 hooks baited at once. The 
hooks are attached to fine snoods of hemp or cotton, which 
in their turn are suspended on long lines ; each boat puts 
out at least 24 of these lines, every line carrying more than 



The Cod Fishery in Various Cotmtries. 35 

100 hooks. Set-line fishing usually begins in the after- 
noon, but in any case only at the time and in the place 
prescribed by the officers appointed at each station for the 
purpose. The baited hooks are generally suspended near 
the bottom, but if there is reason to believe that the fish 
have risen, as they sometimes will, the lines are shortened 
and the bait raised to the required height by means of 
glass floats. - They are then left all night. On the follow- 
ing morning the lines are taken in, and the crews are well 
content with an average take of 50 to 60 fish daily on each 
set of 120 hooks. 

Net fishing requires larger capital, and is only followed 
by the more wealthy fishermen, who provide both nets and 
lines, to be used according to circumstances. 

When the fish are fat, and especially during the spawning 
season, they will hardly take any notice of the bait ; then 
is the time the nets are used. Every boat carries at least 
60 nets of from 10 to 20 fathoms deep. These nets are 
suspended in the water from floats of wood, cork, or glass. 
Hollow glass floats are preferred, and are almost exclusively 
used at Lofoden. Sixteen to 20 nets bound together in 
one length are set out in the afternoon, and, weather per- 
mitting, are taken up the following morning. A catch of 
from 500 to 600 cod is considered satisfactory ; but if this 
number is largely exceeded, part are left in the nets till the 
afternoon, because the boats could not safely carry so heavy 
a freight, together with the crew and wet nets. The total 
take of cod by these various methods has ranged during 
the last few years from 15,000,000 to 25,000,000 of fish per 
annum. 

Although the cod fisheries of Lofoden are the largest 
and most renowned, Norway has many others of great 
value along her far-stretching sea-board. 



36 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

The produce of the Lofoden fisheries in 187 1 was 
of khpfish 750,000 vogs, and of round-fish 340,000 vogs — 
the vog being about 44 lbs. This was equal to nearly 
24,000 tons of codfish. The above take of fish yielded 
31,000 barrels of oil, and 25,000 barrels of roes. On an 
average about 400 cod yield a barrel of liver, varying in 
price from £1 to £1 6s. 8d. 

It appears that there is a great abundance of fish, 
especially cod, off- the coast of Iceland, and that this fish is 
a set-off for the scanty agriculture of the island. The cod 
remain during winter near the coast, and the fishing com- 
mences during the spring ; in summer, the fish are further 
out in deep water. Owing to the smallness of the popula- 
tion, the same persons attend to agriculture and to fishing. 
Taking the whole coast collectively, the winter and spring 
fishings give large fat cod, which are sold at the trading 
ports, and afterwards prepared for export ; whereas the 
summer fishings usually yield small cod, haddock, cole-fish, 
and halibut, which are sorted and smoked for home con- 
sumption. 

The Icelanders chiefly fish from open boats — seldom 
from decked ones. Their boats so vary in size as to range 
from two to 12 oars, with as many men as oars, and 
one to act as steersman. The boats have all projecting 
prows, are very easily rowed, and light in construction. 
As a rule they carry only one lugsail. The larger boats 
— from six to 12 oars — are employed in the deeper 
fishings, often far out at sea. The fishing is effected by 
means of small drift-nets, deep-sea lines, hand lines, or long 
lines, according to the depth of water and the kind of fish. 
Fishing with the drift-net generally ceases about the middle 
of April, and is succeeded by the deep-sea or hand lines. 
The hooks used are generally the same as the French, but 



The Cod Fishery in Various Countries. 37 

some of the fishermen use the old Iceland hook, which 
is nearly 20 inches long. Fishing with the ordinary 
lines is carried on when the other two methods are no 
longer productive, and takes place all round the island. 
From one to four lengths of strong, thick line, each length 
measuring 60 fathoms, are spliced together, and vertical 
or hanging lines six feet in length are spliced into this at a 
distance of six or eight feet apart; a hook baited with 
snails or mussels is fastened to the end of each hanging 
line. The hooks used are the ordinary tinned English 
No. 5. A boat carries from 20 to 40 such lines, which 
are sunk to the bottom by means of stone weights ; their 
position is indicated by buoy-ropes kept up by small 
floating barrels marked with the owner's name. The lines 
are placed across the entrance of bays and rivers, or some- 
times at the outside of them, and are taken up twice or 
thrice a day, according as the weather permits. As many 
as 80 of these long-line boats may sometimes be seen 
collected together, busy fishing from three to four miles off 
the coast. 

Line fishing is conducted in Iceland on a much more 
limited scale than at Newfoundland, in relation both to 
the size of the boats and the length of the lines. This 
•arises, not from the scarcity of the fish, but from the 
poverty of the people, which prevents them from obtaining 
the requisites necessary for larger operations. The fish 
are packed for export sale in many ways. In order to 
obtain what are called white fish, the fish are opened, 
gutted, cleansed, and partially boned, then washed in sea 
water and placed in salt. After three or four days' salting 
they are washed in sea water and laid out on the rock to 
dry ; they are then ready to be packed in warehouses for 
shipment on suitable opportunity. This is, of course, dried 



38 The Commercial P7^od7icts of the Sea. 

salt cod. Another fish for home consumption is the heinge 
fish, in which the cod are split up along the back and hung 
up unsalted to dry in sheds with open latticed sides. This 
second kind is more shrivelled up in appearance than the 
first, and is eaten uncooked by the Icelanders, who like- 
wise dry and eat the refuse heads. 

Somehow or other we have let the French forestall us in 
that quarter. The French fishermen catch more in the Ice- 
land seas than the Icelanders themselves, and carry away 
to France as much cod as is worth 6,725,000 francs a year 
(;^270,ooo). The abundance of fish in the Iceland seas at- 
tracted fishermen from many other countries; but, for some 
reason not easily to be explained, the French are now the 
only foreigners who carry on the fishing largely. Some few 
Belgians are occasionally seen, and a few Scotch fishermen 
from the Shetlands, but their number is insignificant. The 
Danish Government, to which Iceland belongs, lays down 
certain limits within which foreign fishing-boats may not 
approach the shore ; but collisions unfortunately occur 
between those who carry on the line fishing, because the 
French, Avhen driven by the weather or by the movements 
of the shoal, come within the prohibited limits, then en- 
tanglements of gear result, followed by quarrels. The 
French fishermen usually have a fleet of 250 vessels there 
in the season, averaging 90 tons, and worked by 4400 men. 
These vessels are mostly schooner-rigged. Although 
the native boats are nearly ten times as numerous, and 
the crews twice as many, the French catch more cod than 
the Icelanders, for the majority of the native craft are, 
as we have said, mere small open boats. The quantity 
caught altogether must be very large, for the Icelanders 
alone export 5,000,000 lbs. to 7,000,000 lbs. annually. The 
average number of French vessels employed in the cod 



The Cod Fishery in Various Countries. 39 



fishery in Newfoundland and Iceland in the three years 
ending with i860 was 500, of about 65,000 tons, and em- 
ploying 14,000 to 15,000 men. 

The produce imported into France in i860, which was a 
fair average of the five years previous, was as follows : — 



Kilogrammes. 

Wet cod... ... ... ... 19,780,556 

Dry cod ... ... ... ... 7»37o,659 

Cod oil ... ... ... ... 2,050,846 

,, not purified ... ... 284,649 

Cod roes .. ... ... 72,489 

Other produce — sounds, etc. ... 870,655 



The codfish re-exported to the various French colonies, 
to Italy, and the Barbary States, varies from 3,000,000 to 
9,000,000 kilogrammes. 

The average catch of cod in the French colonies of St. 
Pierre and Miquelon, according to the official returns, was 
for the five years ending 1871 : — 

Kilogrammes. 

Dried cod ... ... ... 7,163,965 

Salted cod ... ... ... 8,261,121 

15,425,086 

There were employed in the fishery, directly or in- 
directly, 194 vessels, of 30,561 tons, employing 3439 men. 
The number of boats was 673, and the number of fishermen 
5773. 

The number of French vessels employed in 1873 in 
the cod fisheries was — in Newfoundland 190, of 23,035 tons, 
and in Iceland 230 of 19,585 tons. 

The average annual produce of the French cod fishery 
in the five years ending 1874 was : — 

Kilogrammes. 

Dry codfish ... ... ... 6,419,538 

Green codfish ... ... ... 10,985,127 

Cod oil ... ... ... ... 449,102 

sounds ... ... ... 417,223 

„ roes... ... ... Ii3»4i5 



40 The Commercial P^^oducts of the Sea. 



The kilogramme is equal to 2\ lbs. 

The number of ships employed at St. Pierre and 
Miquelon in the cod fishery is 76, and of boats 590 ; the 
aggregate tonnage, 12,386. The number of fishermen 
employed in them is 5335. These figures are the average 
of the five years ending 1874. 

The imports of cod into the French colonies in 1874 
were as follows : — 

Kilogrammes. 

Martinique ... ... ... 4,586,402 

Guadaloupe ... ... ... 2,621,426 

French Guiana ... ... ... 106,532 

Senegal... ... ... ... 4,069 

Reunion ... ... ... 832,879 

8,151,308 

This shows a declining consumption, judging by the 
average imports for the undermentioned years in the five 
colonies : — 

Kilogrammes. 

1829-183I ... ... ... 9,120,157 

1832-1836 ... ... ... 9,613,200 

1837-185I ... ... ... 18,031,078 

1852-1873 ,.. 9,352,736 




Coal-fish. 



( 41 ) 



CHAPTER 11. 

THE HERRING FISHERY. 

The British herring fishery — The Scotch fishery and take of fish— Mode of 
curing — Statistics of export — Definition of official brands — Statistics of 
the Norfolk fishery — Description of drift and other nets — Kippered 
herrings — The Dutch fishery — The French fishery — The Norway fishery — 
The Nortli American fishery. 

Of almost equal importance to that of the cod is the 
herring fishery, which supports and gives employment to 
many thousand of persons. Herrings (Cbipea harengus), 
when in prime condition, form a cheap, delicate, and 
nutritious article of food, and when promptly and efficiently 
cured, become valuable as provision. But their value in 
this respect must necessarily depend entirely on the quality 
of the fish when caught, and on the degree of promptitude 
and care which may be exercised in curing them. 

The common herring, which is so abundant in all 
markets, is taken generally on the coast of Europe, from 
the extremity of Scandinavia as far as Normandy, and 
sometimes even lower down, but never so low as the Bay of 
Biscay. Swedes, Norwegians, Russians, Danes, Germans, 
Dutch, English, Scotch, Irish, and French, all take part in 
the herring fishery. The number of men employed in 
Great Britain is about 100,000, and that of vessels 3000— 



42 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

not counting the number of small boats. Herrings breed 
with remarkable rapidity. The females are in number up- 
wards of two-thirds more than the males, and some of them 
contain as many as 60,000 eggs. The abundance of herrings 
is such that it is not diminished either by the fishing or by 
the destruction committed by large fish and by innumerable 
birds. The herrings move in shoals, which are sometimes 
from eight to ten miles long by two to four wide, and of 
unknown depth. These immense masses, which advance 
very rapidly, are distinguished by the presence of birds 
flying above them, and by the agitation of the sea, and at 
night the place which they occupy is phosphorescent. In 
1 78 1 herrings came in such large quantities to Buscoe, on 
the coast of Gottenburg, that they were caught by the 
hand. In 1784 ^^56,000 worth of herrings were caught in 
the space of a fortnight in Loch Urn. In 1773 there was 
such an invasion of herrings in Loch Torridon, that 150 
fishing-boats caught from 12 to 20 casks each in the space 
of a single night. In some cases 50,000 herrings have been 
caught by a single cast of the nets, and it is also said that 
the fishermen of Dunkirk, Calais, Dieppe, and Boulogne 
have frequently taken 280,000 herrings in a night. Not 
very long ago the fishermen of one English town, Lowes- 
toft, caught in two days 22,000,000 herrings ! And this at 
only one of a hundred such places. At the retail price 
of a penny each, this two days' catch would come to 
£<^\,666\ but it was so beyond all the mercantile force or 
curing-power of the place, that tons had to be sold for 
manure. 

But few people know the great value of our legitimate 
fishing ground at home. At the same season when the 
pilchards arrive from the south, and swarm on the coast of 
Cornwall, herrings in myriads arrive from the north and 



The Herring Fishery. 



43 



fill the bays and friths on the north-east coast of Scotland. 
During the herring season there are upwards of 15,000 
fishing-boats, manned by about 62,000 men, employed on 
the coast of Scotland every year, and who land their fish, 
when they are successfully cured, barrelled, and the bulk of 
them is sent away to foreign countries. These delicious 
fish, although caught, cured, and sold by Presbyterian 
fishermen, neither pious Neapolitan, Portuguese, nor even 
the good Pope himself, ever hesitates to enjoy the relish 
of a heretical pilchard or herring. 

The Herring Fishery of Scotland. — Mr. Bremner, in his 
work on "The Industries of Scotland," gives an interesting 
description of the outfit and results : — 

" During the fishing season Wick presents one of the 
most interesting scenes to be witnessed in the whole range 
of industry. In the course of the afternoon the crews of 
the boats moored in the harbours or anchored in the bay 
prepare to start for the night's fishing. The nets are got 
on board, the masts are hoisted, the sails set, and soon the 
bay becomes shrouded in dark-brown canvas. With a 
breeze from the south-east, the departure of the boats is a 
splendid sight, for then they have to tack out ; and the 
spectators are favoured by beholding a regatta on a grander 
scale than any to be witnessed elsewhere. The movement 
seaward is simultaneous along the coast, and by the time 
the last of the fleet gets outside the heads of Wick Bay, a 
dark line of boats extends continuously from Duncansby 
Head to the head of Clyth, a stretch of a dozen miles. 
Generally those in the boats have no fixed intention as to 
what spot they shall select for casting out their nets, and 
taking their draw from Neptune's lottery. If a good haul 
was previously got at a certain part, those who get it 
endeavour to return to that part; but in most cases the 



44 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

boats which were successful on the previous night are 
watched and followed, notwithstanding the fact that it is 
an exceedingly rare thing for a boat to have two excep- 
tionally successful nights following each other. 

Having chosen their water, the crew of each boat 
begin to ' shoot ' their nets, which, while being * laid ' in 
their boats, were united in a continuous train or drift, by 
knotting together the ' back-ropes.' Each boat has a train 
of nets about half a mile in length and lo yards in depth. 
By corks attached at the top and weights at the bottom, 
the nets are made to float perpendicularly in the water. 
This wall of netting is suspended from buoys which allow 
it to sink 20 or 30 feet below the surface. The nets are put 
into the sea immediately after sunset, and most of the 
crew then endeavour to snatch * 40 winks ' of sleep. In the 
course of an hour or two some of the nets are hauled up 
and examined to see whether the fish have been ' striking.' 
If there should be good signs of fish in the locality, the 
nets are allowed to lie for some time. The herrings are 
caught by getting fixed in the meshes while trying to pass 
through. The captain decides the proper time for taking 
in the nets, and when he gives the word, all hands fall to 
work. As the nets are got on board, the fish are shaken 
out of them and fall into the hold, where, after a gasp or 
two, they expire. If the night's labour has yielded 20 or 
30 barrels of fish, the men think themselves fortunate ; but 
it is no unusual thing for a boat to bring ashore 80 and 
even 100 ' crans,' or barrels. 

" The return of the boats in the morning is an event of 
much more importance and interest to people on shore, and 
from an early hour anxious inquiries are made respecting 
the fortunes of the night, while those who have leisure go 
to make observations from the piers and cliffs. As the 



The Herring Fishery. 45 



boats crowd into the harbours, an opportunity is afforded 
for judging of the uncertainty of the fishermen's fortunes. 
A score or two of boats sail swiftly in, with barely as many 
fish on board as will suffice for the breakfasts of the crews ; 
then, at a toilsome pace, come one or two boats filled to the 
thwarts with herrings. In one case, the night's labour of 
six men, and the use and risk of property worth from ^100 
to £200, has produced a return of about 6d, ; in another, 
of £60 or £^0. The average catch at Wick in 1868 was 41 f 
crans, drawn from returns of individual boats which ranged 
from one to upwards of 200 crans, or barrels. 

" When all the boats are in, the harbours are quite 
crowded ; but, by mutual arrangement, the boats having 
large quantities of fish to land are allowed to get near the 
quays. The fish are shovelled into wicker baskets, and then 
carried to the ' station,' where they are measured and emptied 
into the ' boxes,' or enclosures of wood from 20 to 30 feet 
square, the sides of which are about 30 inches in height. As 
soon as a convenient quantity of fish has been deposited in 
the box, a troop of women, arrayed in canvas and oil-cloth, 
approach, and the ' gutting ' and ' packing ' processes begin. 
The gutters, each armed with a small knife, surround the 
box, and, taking a herring up in the left hand, operate upon 
it with the knife held in the right hand. The rapidity of 
their movements is surprising, a good worker being able to 
dispose of 1000 fish in an hour. As the fish are gutted, 
they are dropped into baskets and handed over to the 
' packers,' who ' rouse ' them with salt in a large tub, and 
then arrange them in layers in the barrels. A free use 
of salt is made, the herrings being first coated with it 
separately in the rousing process, and the layers in the 
barrels afterwards thickly overlaid with it. The barrels are 
temporarily covered, and allowed to stand for 10 days, 



46 



The Commercial Products of the Sea, 



during which time the fish settle down considerably. 
Additional fish are then put in, until the barrels are quite 
full. After being examined and approved by an officer of 
the Fishery Board, the barrels receive the official brand, 
which is accepted in the market as a guarantee that the 
fish are of a certain standard of quality. A large number 
of coopers and labourers are engaged in preparing and 
heading up the barrels, and removing them from one place 
to another." 

At almost all the stations in Scotland the disposition of 
the fishermen for some years past has been to substitute 
first-class boats for the second class, and even to employ 
first-class boats at the line or white fishery, where boats of 
the second class were formerly used. 

An enterprising curer at Wick has lately made trial of 
sending carrier pigeons to sea with boats which fish at a 
large offing. The pigeons were the means of supplying 
intelligence of the results of the night's fishing before the 
boats arrived, so that preparations could be made ac- 
cordingly, and they also conveyed instruction when a 
steam-tug or other assistance was required. Another ex- 
periment made with success at Wick was the employment 
of a traction engine to haul up the boats for the winter, 
instead of gangs of men, and the work was found to be 
done cheaper. 

The take of herrings in the Scotch fisheries has been 
on the whole large in the past ten years : — 



Total cured. 
Barrels. 



Exported. 
Barrels. 



1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
187I 
1872 



825,589 
651,433! 
675,143 
833,160^ 

825,475! 

773,859i 



478,704? 
3^8,7441 

381,333! 
530,558 
55i,6o5i 
549,631 



The Herring Fishery. 47 



Total cured. Exported. 
Barrels. Barrels. 

1873 939,2332 668,008 

1874 1,000,561 737,314! 

1875 • 942,980 660,9701 

1876 598,1972 400,4231 

About one half of the total number cured are " officially- 
branded " by the inspectors. 

The respective brands are "crown full," "maties," "spent," 
and "mixed." Maties are those fish in which the roes and 
milts are perfectly but not largely developed — and it is well 
to understand that this is the state of the fish in which it is 
truly in the best condition for food — and when it will be found 
most delicious to eat, as well as most nutritive. Although 
it does not exhibit, whilst in this condition, so bulky an 
appearance as it does when it is in that of a full fish, it is 
in reality much fatter, for the bulk of the full fish is decep- 
tively produced by the great enlargement of the roe or 
milt, and this does not take place without a corresponding 
diminution of the body of the fish. The full fish, however, 
are those which are most sought after in a mercantile point 
of view, because of their larger appearance. The spent or 
shotten fish having just performed their function of spawn \ 
ing, and having been thereby reduced to a miserable, lean, 
and poor state, are unpalatable, and more or less unwhole- 
some as food when in a fresh state, and in a still greater 
degree when cured. The more immediately they are taken 
after spawning the worse they will be, and the longer the 
time that expires after their performance of that function, 
the less unpalatable or unwholesome they will become. 
But it is always advisable to avoid taking or using them in 
any way until they shall have had time to be fully recruited 
after their thorough exhaustion from spawning. 

The Norfolk Herring Fishery. — From a recent official 



48 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

report by Mr. Frank Buckland, fishery inspector, we are 
able to glean some valuable statistics. Yarmouth for 800 
years past has been celebrated for its herring fishery. The 
total value of luggers, trawling smacks, and other vessels, 
with the various buildings on shore belonging to the 
herring and trawling fisheries, is supposed to be little short 
of ^750,000 sterling at the present time. 

The fishing vessels belonging to Yarmouth and Gorles- 
ton are : — 

First class, over 15 tons, luggers and smacks ... ... 512 

Second class, over 2 tons and under 15 tons ... .. 459 

Total .. 971 

The crews of these vessels would average eight hands. 
There are also 37 small boats, with an average of two men, 
and about 120 Scotch and West country vessels, which 
land their fish in Yarmouth harbour during the herring 
season. 

Of late years the number of boats and men has greatly 
increased, and the depth and length of the nets have also 
been augmented. Fourteen years ago there used to be 
about 15 yards on a rope ; now an ordinary net is from 18 
to 20 yards on the rope. Then the boats used to fish from 
61 to 91 nets each ; now they fish from lOi to 161 nets. 

Many boats now fish with nets a mile and a third 
long ; some boats have been known to use nearly two 
miles of nets. During the months of September, October, 
and November, it would be well within the mark to state 
that there are fishing for herrings every favourable night in 
the North Sea between 5000 or 6000 miles of netting. 
Formerly the herring nets were made of twine ; of recent 
years they are nearly all made of cotton. Cotton is much 
softer, and fishes better than twine. 



The H 67^ ring Fishery. 



49 



The size of the drift-net varies on different parts of the 
coast. The herring-net used in the long-standing Yar- 
mouth fishery may, however, be taken as an iUustration of 
this particular kind of net, and the manner in which it is 
there worked agrees essentially with its operation in all the 
drift fisheries. 

The drift-net, taking it altogether, consists of a number 
of nets, usually from 120 to 130, each of which is 17 yards 
long, and between seven and eight yards deep. They are 
attached along their upper margin by short pieces of line a 
few inches apart to the back-rope, a double rope enclosing 
at short intervals single pieces of cork to keep that part of 
the net uppermost. These nets are fastened together at 
their extremities, and thus united form what is called a 
train, fleet, or drift of nets," extending to a length of 
nearly a mile and a quarter. The depth to which the nets 
are sunk is regulated by ropes seven or eight yards long, 
called "seizings," two of which, from each net, are made 
fast to a stout warp running the whole length of the train, 
the warp itself being supported near the surface by small 
kegs or buoys, technically called " bowls." The warp is 
also useful in taking the strain off the nets, and in pre- 
venting their loss in case the train should be fouled and cut 
by a vessel passing over them when they are near the sur- 
face. The minimum size of the herring-mesh is fixed by 
law at " one inch from knot to knot along the line," or, to 
put it in a form perhaps less likely to be misunderstood, at 
one inch square. In practice, however, it is found that in 
order to catch good-sized fish rather larger dimensions are 
desirable, and meshes running from 31 to 34 instead of 36 
to the yard are, with few exceptions, in use all around the 
coast. 

Drift fishing is carried on at night. The nets are shot 

E 



50 The Commercial Prodttds of the Sea. 

a little before sunset, the fishing-boat being kept before the 
wind, and with only enough sail set to take her clear of 
the nets as fast as they are thrown over. When all the 
nets are out, about 15 fathoms more of warp are paid out, 
and by this the vessel is swung round and then rides head 
to wind, a small mizen being set to keep her in that 
position. 

The whole train of nets is now extended in nearly a 
straight line, the back-rope, to which the corks are fastened, 
being uppermost, and the body of the net hanging perpen- 
dicularly in the water, forming a wall of netting more 
than 2000 yards long, and about eight yards deep. The 
strain from the vessel serves to keep the net extended, and 
the whole — vessel and nets together — drifts along with the 
tide. The influence of the tide, however, is not equally 
felt throughout the whole extent of the nets. The train 
is consequently soon thrown into irregular curves, often 
leading to considerable confusion when many boats are 
fishing in close company. 

During the day the herrings keep very much at the 
bottom, or in a considerable depth of water ; but as night 
closes in, and if the weather be favourable, they become 
more active, swim nearer the surface, and in their attempts 
to pass through the barriers of netting on every side of 
them many become meshed, the gills of any moderate- 
sized fish preventing its return when once the head has 
passed completely through the mesh. 

If, after two or three hours, an examination of the first 
of the nets should show that many fish have been caught, 
the train is hauled on board and the fish shaken out. The 
nets are hauled in by means of a capstan and the warp to 
which the nets are fastened. 

Drift fishing is carried on with craft of various sizes, 



The Herrmg Fishery. 



51 



from the Yarmouth decked lugger of 60 tons to the frail 
canvas canoe or airragk of the West of Ireland, the number 
of men and the quantity of net varying with the size of the 
boats. 

The weight of fish carried from the Great Eastern rail- 
way stations in 1874 was as follows : — 



In addition to the above, about 20,000 tons of trawl fish 
are sent to Billingsgate every year by carrying cutters and 
steamers from the Yarmouth fleets of trawling vessels in 
the North Sea. This would give 47,864 tons from Yar- 
mouth alone, and including Lowestoft and Harwich, 74,234 
tons of fish. To this must be added a very large quantity 
sent by steamers to London, Newcastle, Hull, etc., and 
many ship-loads exported to ports in the Mediterranean. 

A very important trade, that of kippering herrings, has, 
during the last few years, been introduced into Yarmouth, 
mainly through the energy and enterprise of Mr. John 
Woodger. Herrings for kippering must be of the very 
best quality, and no salt is used in this process. The 
entrails of the fish are taken out ; they are then carefully 
washed, and hung up in the smoking-house for a few hours. 
Large numbers of women are employed by the kipper 
merchants, and it is supposed that more than 1000 lasts of 
herrings are now yearly required for this trade alone. 

The quantity of herrings landed at the fish wharf, 
Yarmouth, between August and December, is about 18,000 
lasts. It is estimated that a last of freshly caught herrings 
weighs about two tons. Probably over 1000 lasts in each 



Tons. 



Yarmouth 
Lowestoft 
Harwich 



27,517 
23,861 

2,509 



53,887 



52 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



year may be added to this for herrings landed at Gorleston 
and other parts of Yarmouth harbour. 

In 1873 there were landed at Yarmouth and Lowestoft, 
including the spring and autumnal fishing, 32,000 lasts of 
herrings. There are in each last 13,200 individual fish. 
The total number, therefore, caught in 1873 amounted 
to 422,400,000, or nearly four hmidred and tiventy-three 
millions of herrings. Take these fish at a halfpenny each 
when cured and sold in the retail market, and we shall 
find the value of the herrings caught in one year by fishing 
vessels sailing out of Yarmouth and Lowestoft to be over 
;£'87 5,000. 

Mr. J. G. Nail, in 1866, estimated the entire capital 
embarked in the Yarmouth fisheries, including trawling 
vessels, to be about ^600,000 ; this has since much in- 
creased. The value of the capital embarked in the Lowes- 
toft fisheries is also very large. 

The herring fisheries in Yarmouth and Lowestoft may 
therefore be truly said to be of national importance ; the 
herrings alone caught would give about 14 meals in the 
year to every man, woman, and child in the United 
Kingdom, allowing one fish to a meal. 

It appears that there are no herrings caught in January. 
Towards the end of February the fishermen begin to catch 
spring herrings, and the fishery lasts during March, April, 
and May. In June and July the midsummer herring 
fishery is carried on, more or less. In August little is 
done in herrings ; the " harvest of the sea " begins in 
September and lasts until about Christmas. This is called 
the " autumn or home fishing." 

The spring herrings are described as being nothing but 
skin and bone ; there is no fat whatever about them. They 
are not good ; indeed, hardly fit for human food. The mid- 



The He7^ring Fishery. 



53 



summer herring is a larger, handsomer, and fatter fish than 
the spring herring ; for whilst the spring herrings are 
only from six to seven inches in length, the midsummer 
herring is generally eight to nine inches. As the warm 
weather comes on, so the quality of the midsummer herring 
improves. 

The spring herring fishery begins at the end of Feb- 
ruary, and continues to the end of May. These herrings 
are of great value to the Lowestoft people ; from ;^20,ooo 
to ;^30,ooo are put into circulation in Lowestoft, and 
upwards of looo men and boys employed on the water 
during the spring herring fishery. At that time boat- 
owners have no other employment for their men ; 80 to 90 
boats go out from Lowestoft, and several from Gorleston, 
to catch these spring herrings. 

A large proportion of these herrings is sold for bait 
to the Dutch and French fishermen, who come over to 
Lowestoft on purpose to buy them. They are used to 
bait the long lines, to catch halibut, turbot, etc. 

Herrings caught at Lowestoft. 

Spring Midsummer Autumnal 

Year. herrings. herrings. herrings. 

Lasts. Lasts. Lasts. 

1873 ... 1887 ... 54 ... 10,973 

1874 2546 ... 112 ... 9,173 

1875 ... 1064 ... 106 ... — 

The commercial importance of the Lowestoft fisheries 
may be seen from the following figures, showing the 
number of boats and men employed at the port : — 

Trawling smacks ... ... ... 78 

Luggers and dandies ... ... ... 260 

Small boats ... , ... ,.. 120 



The trawlers average 8 men and boys ; total, 624. The 



54 The Co77Z77iercial Products of the Sea. 



luggers and dandies, lo men and boys ; total, 2600. Small 
boats, 2 men ; total, 240. This gives a total of 458 vessels 
of all classes, and 3464 men and boys. 

This is the total of registered vessels and their crews, 
but it does not include the shore men, who are employed 
in the markets as packers, curers, etc. Nor does it include 
the West country or Scotch boats which use the port 
during the herring season. These may be safely reckoned 
as 120 vessels, with 1000 men and boys. 

On the Cornish coast 200 boats from Newlyn and 
Mousehole are engaged in the herring fishery, and employ 
at least 1000 persons. Each boat of modern build costs 
about £2^0, and carries nets which cost on the average 
from £^ to £^ los. per net. 

The quantity of herrings caught off Ireland in 1876 was 
180,318 mease,* which was about 2000 meases below the 
take of the previous year. At the average of 25^. ^d. per 
mease, this gives a total value of ^226,803. 

The Dittch Herrhig Fishery. — Before the sixteenth 
century, when nearly all the countries of Europe were 
debarred the use of animal food during Lent, the con- 
sumption of herrings all over the continent was im- 
mense, and brought prodigious wealth to Holland. De 
Witt, the great Dutch statesman, mentions that about 
2000 busses were employed by the Dutch in the herring 
fishery at home. Each buss had a complement of about 
25 men, thus rearing about 50,000 seamen, besides giving 
bread and employment to several hundred thousand people 
on shore, in building busses and making nets, casks, etc. ; 
and it was an old proverb in Holland, "that the foundation 
of Amsterdam was laid on herring-bones." The Dutch 
fishery, besides employing so many thousand men in catch- 

* A fish-measure of 500 herrings, sometimes spelt " mace "or maize." 



The Herring Fishery. 



55 



ing and curing the herrings, employed many thousand 
more seamen for managing the merchant vessels which 
carried the produce of the fisheries to the various ports of 
the Baltic and Mediterranean seas. Thus, by cultivating 
and encouraging the herring fishery, the Dutch formed 
themselves into a great maritime power, and in the days of 
Oliver Cromwell possessed a navy not inferior to that of 
England. 

In the fifteenth century the Dutch had 700 large vessels 
employed in the fishery, and the quantity of fish they 
caught was estimated at 30,000,000 a year ; in the seven- 
teenth century the quantity rose to 50,000,000; but it has 
since greatly declined. The English fishermen take at 
present about 7,000,000 tons annually, and the Dutch not 
more than 35,000. In the year 1650 the Dutch had 5000 
" busses," or large decked fishing luggers, on the east coast 
of Scotland ; they were manned by 50,000 fishermen, and 
from this source the Dutch navy, so long the most formi- 
dable on the North Sea, was chiefly manned. The north- 
east coast of Scotland was chiefly the locality of the Dutch 
fisheries, and here they had to compete with the Norse 
fishers, who had possession of the Orkney and Shetland 
Islands and a great part of the Caithness coast, the creeks 
and harbours in which were used for the coast fisheries, 
while the larger vessels kept the sea. 

The Dutch herrings, though caught almost on the same 
ground as the English or Scotch, fetch a higher price than 
any other in the world, and are eaten raw as a relish in 
Holland and Germany. The first barrel of new herrings 
that is taken is forwarded to the king at the Hague. It is 
carried in procession with banners and military music ; the 
day is one of public rejoicing, and a few of the new herrings 
are sent as presents to the nobles of the land. The Dutch 



56 The Com77iercial Prodttcts of the Sea. 

bleed each herring, use the best quahty of salt, and take 
the greatest care in the manipulation. 

The herring is a very fat, oily fish, and unless carefully 
and rapidly cured with salt, becomes soon rancid and 
unfit for use. The herrings formerly cured in Scotland 
were not gutted and bled with a knife like the Dutch 
herrings, but were cured intact as they camiC out of the 
sea. No time was limited for putting the fish into salt ; 
everything was done there as here, in the most slovenly 
manner ; and while the Dutch herring found a ready 
market all over the continent, the Scotch found none, and 
the consumption was almost entirely confined to the home 
market. 

The great advantage of the fishery inspectors now is, that 
they perambulate the curers' yards while the operation of 
curing is going on. They see that the women gut, salt, and 
pack the herrings properly, and within the time prescribed 
by the statute. They also take care that every cask shall 
contain at least 32 gallons, and that the full fish be sepa- 
rated from the lank or spawned fish. It requires 12 days 
to cure the herrings properly ; at the expiration of that 
time the casks are opened again, when the fish are found 
swimming in the pickle, which is formed by the salt and 
the blood of the fish. The superfluous pickle is then drawn 
off, and the casks are filled quite full with herrings. The 
effect of the salt upon the herrings is to compress them 
into much smaller bulk, so that a cask which has been 
packed quite full of fresh fish, the day they were landed, at 
the end of 12 days is only about two-thirds full; or, in 
other words, 100 barrels of fresh salted fish will only yield 
70 barrels of well-packed cured fish. 

The French Herring Fishery. — The herring fishery 
known in France in the eleventh century was long ex- 



The Herring Fishery. 



57 



clusively pursued by Dieppe and Rouen fishermen, who 
caught this fish in the North Sea, and distributed it 
over France and the Levant. Later, other maritime ports 
entered upon this industry ; and in 1789 Fecamp had 50 
boats occupied in the herring fishery. Now, after a 
dechne of the fishery occasioned by the wars of the 
Republic and the Empire, it has taken a fresh start, 
and become of great importance to Dieppe and Boulogne. 
The herring fishery is carried on in France on the coasts 
of Dunkirk and Havre, from September to February or 
March, and is sometimes continued till May. 

In France 180 vessels, of 8000 tons burden, are employed 
in catching herrings for salting, and take about 8,500,000 
kilogrammes a year. Of these vessels about 100 belong 
to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer ; the rest to Dieppe, 
Fecamp, St. Valery-en-Caux, Calais, Treport, and Grave- 
lines. The number of vessels employed in fishing herrings 
which are sold fresh is 470, of about 10,000 tons burden, and 
they catch on an average 13,000,000 kilogrammes annually. 
They belong to the aforesaid ports, and also to those of 
Barfleur, Berck, Dunkirk, Etape, Le Hourdel, Port-en- 
Bessin, and St. Valery-sur-Somme. At Boulogne the 
fishery is better organized than anywhere else in France, 
and is carried on by means of associations composed of the 
owners of the boats and the crews. 

A recent very productive year, in which but 109 boats and 
1 506 men were engaged from Boulogne, resulted in a catch 
of 4518 lasts of fresh and salted herrings, the total money 
proceeds of which were 18,015. Iri 1873, 282 boats were 
employed, of 8350 tons, and employing 3750 men. The 
catch of herrings yielded over ;^200,000, and the value of 
the other fisheries carried on from the port £ 1 1 5,000 more. 

The take of herrings on the French coasts in 1873 



58 The Comme7xial Products of the Sea. 

amounted in value to somewhat under ^^400,000. The 
herring fishery of France realized in 1866 a little over 
7,000,000 francs; in 1873 it reached nearly 9,500,000 francs. 

The Norway Herring Fishery. — The herring is found 
from Mandal, on the extreme south of Norway, to the 
North Cape. They seem to live in -the deep submarine 
valley between the 47th and 67th degrees of latitude; 
that is, from about the English Channel on the south, to 
the North Cape at the extreme north of Norway. It 
approaches the shore when about to spawn. They 
abandon water which has not at least the temperature 
of 4° C. or 40° R, either because this temperature is 
disagreeable to them, or they do not find suitable food. 
From some unknown cause, the localities where they pre- 
sent themselves vary each year. The fishermen begin to 
take a few spring herrings towards the end of March, 
which are very thin, but improve in July and August. 
The winter herrings are fished between 15th January and 
15th March. About 1,000,000 barrels are annually pro- 
cured, of which a considerable portion finds its way to 
Great Britain, and the rest go to Sweden and the Baltic 
ports. 

The North American Fishery. — The common American 
herring {Clnpca elongata, Storer) is amongst the most 
valuable of food fishes. The habits, haunts, and seasons 
of the herring are matters of curious inquiry. It seems, 
however, now to be well established that the only migra- 
tion of the herring is from the deep seas to the shores at 
the spawning season, and from the shore to the deep seas 
when this is over. 

As early as March herrings are taken in nets on the 
coast, but the fish are so straggling and the seas so 
boisterous, that, except for bait, fishing does not commence 



The Herring Fishery. 59 



till May. In this month a run of large fat herrings is 
taken in nets upon the banks, which lie 10 or 15 miles sea- 
ward, and carry about 75 fathoms water. A net 30 fathoms 
long and three deep is passed from the stern of a boat at 
anchor. The free end drifts with the tide, held to the 
surface by cork floats — sometimes the tides carry the net 
down 15 fathoms in a slanting direction — thus drifting from 
night to morning; the net is overhauled, and from 20 to 100 
dozen is the ordinary catch. It is very evident that, owing 
to the distance from shore, and the need of calm weather for 
the boats and nets, as well as for the fish, which are very sus- 
ceptible to rough seas, this fishing must be precarious. The 
boats are stout, weatherly keel boats, with a half deck, 
from five to 15 tons, carrying a jib, fore and main sail, and 
usually called second-class fishermen when entered at a 
regatta. 

The " in shore run," a fish of smaller size, are taken in 
nets set to a buoy, instead of a boat, the free end drifting 
to the tide. These nets are often moored from one buoy 
to another to preserve a permanent position across a creek 
or small bay. In these various ways herrings are taken by 
the shore population of the whole Atlantic and Gulf coast 
of Nova Scotia, from the Bay of F'undy to Cumberland. 
The immense tides of the Bay of Fundy, leaving long flats 
and sand-bars at low tide, and the steep trap formation of 
its southern coast line have singularly altered the character 
of the fishery. Here the drift-net fishing is carried on, 
boats and nets drifting for miles upon the flow and returning 
upon the ebb, the nets twisted and coiled into apparently 
impossible masses. The shores of the trap formation being 
flat tables of trap reaching plane after plane into the sea, 
with no crevice to hold a stake or anchor a buoy, the fisher-= 
men procure stout spruce fir trees, and lopping off the 



6o The Com7nercial Prod^icts of the Sea, 

branches, leave the long lateral roots attached to them. 
These they place upright in rows upon the bare rock, and 
pile heavy stones upon the roots as ballast, stretching their 
nets between them. Entirely submerged at flood tide, at ebb 
they are left high and dry, and often loaded down with fish 
caught by the gills in the meshes of the net. These nets 
are usually set for a large, lean spring herring, running for 
the flats in early spring to spawn. This method of fishing 
obtains throughout the v/hole trap district of the province 
bordering upon the Bay of Fundy. 

The value of the herrings caught in the Dominion of 
Canada in 1876 was returned at ^^825,620. 

Herring {Clupca Jiarengiis) and shad {Alosa sapidis- 
simd) are so abundant in North Carolina that the former 
sell for 6s. per 1000, and the finest shad at from 6d. to \s. 
each. The seines used are of immense size, and are 
worked by steam power. A seine worked at the mouth 
of the Chowan is a mile and a half in length, and in 
it 300,000 herrings have been taken in one day. They 
also take from 1000 to 2000 shad at a catch. Steamers are 
at the wharves, constantly loading with these fine fish, 
packed in ice, for the New York and other northern 
markets. 



( 61 ) 



CHAPTER III. 

THE PILCHARD FISHERY. 

The pilchard fishery of Cornwall and Devonshire — Description of drift and 
seine nets — Process of cleaning and salting the fish — Statistics of catch in 
various years — Definitions of fish measures — Cornish sardines — Irish 
fishery — French fishery. 

The pilchard {Clupea pilchardus) is of a somewhat less com- 
pressed and rounded form than the herring. The great 
seat of this British fishery is the coast of Devonshire and 
Cornwall, particularly Mount's Bay, St. Ives, and Meva- 
gissey, where they are caught in vast numbers. In July the 
early pilchard fishing commences, and from that time to 
the beginning of September the whole coast from St. Ives 
to the Ram Head is in a state of excitement and activity. 
So much do the comforts of all the labouring classes 
depend on a successful take of pilchards, that an unpro- 
ductive season is nearly as disastrous as a deficient harvest 
on land would be. 

The fish are taken in either drift-nets or seines. The 
former are for entangling the fish in the open sea, and are 
about half a mile in length, by five fathoms in depth. 
The latter are cast near the shore, and in shallow water. 
To work a seine three boats are required. The first large 



62 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

one, carrying the stop seine, is manned by a crew of nine, 
six rowing, two to shoot the seine, and one acting as bow- 
man, on whom the course of the boat depends. The 
second boat is called the volgar or follower, and carries the 
tuck or smaller lifting seine. The third is the lurker, the 
smallest 'of the three, and is chiefly occupied by the hirer 
or guide, and some boys. The seine is of various lengths, 
ranging from 250 to 300 fathoms, by 13 to 16 fathoms 
deep. Its meshes are smaller than those of the drift-net, 
the object being to enclose the fish without meshing 
them. 

The seine net has a line of head-ropes, to which are 
attached corks and other buoys, to keep its upper edge 
near the surface. To the lower edge are attached innumer- 
able small pieces of lead, which bear it down and keep it 
close to the ground, the object being to shoot the seine in 
shallow water with a clear bottom. The ''tuck" is a 
similar net, but of smaller dimensions; its mesh is of the 
same size as that of the seine, but it has in the middle 
a hollow bag, as it were, into which the fish go when the 
process of tucking is going on. These nets are very 
expensive, costing from £^00 to £600. 

The '' drift " fishing employs about 47 boats. Each 
boat costs about £200, or when a set of three nets is pro- 
vided, so as to fish for herrings and mackerel as well as 
pilchards, the cost is £4.00. Unlike the seine boats, the 
drift boats must all be manned by sailors. 

As many as 4200 hogsheads, or over 1200 tons, of fish 
have been taken in one cast of the seine, but this enormous 
catch was an extraordinary haul. A good cast, enclosing 
a large shoal, has, however, often yielded 1200 hogsheads 
of fish. 

The pilchards, when taken on shore, are gutted and 



The Pilchard Fishery, 63 



cleaned by women and children, and piled, with layers of 
salt, in large heaps in cellars or warehouses, where they 
remain for about a month ; and being subsequently washed 
and thoroughly cleaned, are packed in hogsheads and 
subjected to pressure to extract the oil, about three gallons 
being yielded by each cask, when the fish are fat. 

Great quantities of salted pilchards are sent to the 
Mediterranean, particularly to Naples and other parts of 
Italy, where they are largely consumed during Lent. 

The number of hogsheads exported in 185 1 was 26,743. 
The average for 10 years then stood at 23,446 hogsheads. 
Taking the number at 2500 fish to the hogshead, over 
58,500,000 fish are caught annually, weighing 10,620 tons. 
About 5000 tons of salt are required to cure the catch for 
export, as there is but a small local consumption. 

In the seven years ending 1863 the average annual 
export was only 13,757 hogsheads, but 1859 and i860 were 
unprecedently bad years, the take being only 3500 hogs- 
heads. The catch of 1863, on the contrary, was large, 
reaching 26,057 hogsheads. The shipments were larger at 
the close of the last century than they are now. 

The total takes in Cornwall for the last three years 
have been very small, namely, 7543^ hogsheads in 1874, 
7337J in 1875, and 6700 in 1876. In the last-named year 
only from 300 to 400 hogsheads were captured during the 
summer fishing, which ends on the 1 5th of September. 
These produced from 63^". to ^Js. per hogshead. The main 
take was in the autumn and winter, and they went as high 
in price as lOOi*. per hogshead. 

Italy will absorb, at fair prices, as much as 30,000 
hogsheads annually, and depends upon Cornwall for the 
supply. 

Pilchards arrive on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall 



64 The Co7nme7^cial Products of the Sea. 

from June to September ; sometimes they are caught about 
Christmas. A hogshead of pilchards, well cured and 
pressed, will hold 2^00 to 3000 fish. The fresh fish weigh 
about 6^ cwt., and the salt 3 J cwt., but the weight of the 
hogsheads when cured and pressed is reduced to about 4^^ 
cwt., including the weight usually allowed for the cask, 
28 lbs. Ten thousand pilchards make a last. A hogs- 
head is supposed to consist of eight baskets of fish, and 
a basket contains about 400 ; but this number varies with 
the size of the fish. The fish are sold by the long hundred 
• — 120. 

A new industry has been started in Cornwall within a 
year or two, that of preserving small pilchards in oil in tins, 
after the manner of sardines. The seat of the company's 
operations is at Newlyn ; a Frenchman conducts the opera- 
tions. The Cornish sardines grow in favour and demand 
in London. Their flavour is considered quite equal to that 
of the foreign fish, and their nutritive qualities greater ; 
while the extra size of the box, and the liberal way in 
which it is filled, all tend to commend the home product. 

Large shoals of pilchards appeared off the coast of 
Cork and Kerry during the year 1876, principally from 
July to the end of October, some as late as November. 
They were in the greatest abundance off" the Cork coast, 
and in many places came close in to the shore, and 
were captured by small seines drawn in upon the rocks. 
No efforts have yet been made in Ireland to cure for the 
continental markets, but some have been cured for home 
consumption on various parts of the coast. By degrees 
this fish is being regarded with more favour by the country 
people, and if they continue to frequent the Irish coasts as 
they have now done for some years, there is little doubt 
that a considerable trade will result. 



The Pilchai'd Fishery. 65 

Pilchards frequent the coasts of France and Spain in 
small numbers. The fishery of Nantes is carried on with 
great activity, and employs in the season 700 boats, manned 
by about 3000 seamen. 



F 



66 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE MACKEREL FISHERY. 

The mackerel fishery on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall — The Lowestoft 
mackerel fishery — Statistics of fishery — American mackerel fishery — Mode 
of curing the fish. 

The mackerel {Scomber sconibriis) is a much esteemed fish. 
The excitement on the Devon and Cornish coasts when 
the shoals of this fish appear is very great. On their 
periodical arrivals, which is their custom in multitudes, for 
the purpose of feeding on a small fry very similar to white- 
bait, a practised eye will readily observe their manceuvres 
some distance from the shore, inasmuch as the moment 
they discover the food they love so well, their numbers and 
greedy propensities cause them to rush on their prey, which, 
endeavouring to escape from death, disturbs the water in 
large circles like a shower of hailstones dropping therein ; 
indeed, we know of nothing more similar to compare it to. 
The moment one of these disturbed spots appears on the 
water, men are placed on the highest cliffs to look out, 
while the boats with their crews and nets prepared are 
launched and ready for action. The mackerel are some- 
times seen at least a mile from shore, but the moment they 
attack the small bait, the latter fly towards the beach, till 
at times they approach within a hundred yards or nearer ; 



The Mackerel Fishery. 



67 



and the look-out man, who discovers them more readily 
from an eminence, shouts at the extent of his lungs, the 
boats are rapidly rowed around the feasting fish in a circle, 
the nets cast, and then being hauled towards the shore by 
men on land, some thousands of mackerel are enclosed in 
a large bag at the extremity of the net. 

The demand for this fish is so great, that they are rarely 
to be met with in the towns in the west. 

During 1869 the quantity of mackerel taken from Pen- 
zance and St. Ives by railway amounted to 71,959 pads, or 
161 7 tons; to May i, 1870, the quantity conveyed from 
the same places amounted to 40,100 pads, or 871 tons. 

The Lowestoft Mackerel Fishery. — The mackerel voyage 
on the east coast, even in its best days, was rarely re- 
munerative either to owners or men ; more frequently the 
amount realized barely paid charges for provisions, leaving 
nothing for wages, or wear and tear of boats and nets. 
The owners never expected much, and it was more to 
keep their men in employment, than in anticipation of 
profit, that this voyage was carried on for many years. 
In 1854 there were 20 mackerel boats out of Lowestoft; 
in 1862 these had decreased to three, and their gross 
earnings averaged only £<^ per boat. 

In former years mackerel realized a large price ; now 
the merchants have to compete with very fine fish caught 
off the Irish coast near Kinsale, and also with the immense 
numbers imported from Norway. These mackerel are 
packed in ice, and find a ready market amongst the manu- 
facturing towns, as well as in London. In 1874 Yarmouth 
and Gorleston had a few boats engaged in this fishery for a 
short time in the autumn ; i.e.^ nearly four months later 
than the mackerel voyage of former years commenced. In 
1875, 3926 long hundred (120) were caught, the average 



68 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

price of the fish being 26s. per hundred ; total value, 
^^"4907 lOs. In 1862 and 1870 the annual take was 
valued at ^9000. 

The average number of boats engaged in this fishery 
may be stated at about 50. 

Mackerel nets have only about 24 or 25 meshes to the 
yard, and are not so deep as the herring nets, but they are 
twice as long — a fleet of mackerel nets, such as is used by 
the Yarmouth boats, extending to a distance of nearly two 
miles and a half. 

The official returns of the mackerel fishery for Ireland 
for 1876 showed a gross capture of 1,391,083 boxes, of 
six score fish each. The prices varied from 3^. to 55*. per 
box, the total amount realized being ;f 110,223. The 
regular mackerel fishing season commences about the 
middle of March and ends about the last of June. During 
that period the lowest price obtained was 12s. per box. 
The average price for the total quantity taken was i6s. per 
box of six score. 

The mackerel fishery on the French coast, taking the 
catch of the years 1873 and 1874, averages ;^i40,ooo in 
value. It is principally carried on from the ports of 
Boulogne, Dieppe, Fecamp, Caen, and Douarnenez. In 
1867 the value of the French catch of mackerel was under 
^100,000. 

The mackerel on the coast of Norway is, as an article 
of export, comparatively of modern fishery growth. The 
fishery is carried on along the southern coast from Chris- 
tiansand to Mandel, during the three summer months of 
May, June, and July. The quantity exported to Great 
Britain in 1869 was 3,698,637 fish, valued at ^18,117. The 
average price paid was 2s. per score. The boats' crews 
engaged in this fishery earned about £60 to ^90 per boat. 



The Mackei^el Fishery. 



69 



The American Mackerel Fishery. — The spring mackerel 
{Scomber vemales^ Mitch.) is the ordinary mackerel of com- 
merce. The fall mackerel is considered by some naturalists 
a distinct species, and has been named Scomber grex. The 
mackerel is not a migratory fish, but draws off into deep 
water at the approach of winter, and returns to the shallow 
water near the shores at the beginning of summer, for the 
purpose of depositing its spawn. The mackerel fishery of 
Nova Scotia composes one of its largest exports. Besides 
the catch by the colonial fishermen, about 50,000 barrels 
more are taken in British waters annually by the Americans, 
making about 200,000 barrels in all. 

On the North American coast a very extensive trade is 
carried on in pickled mackerel. Every little creek and 
day from Cape Sable to Halifax in Nova Scotia occasion- 
ally overflows with this fish, and they are taken in nets, 
from 100 to 600 barrels being secured at a single draught. 
Men, women, and children are then employed night and 
day in curing them. 1 50,000 barrels of mackerel are often 
exported from the port of Halifax alone, principally to 
the United States, valued at ^^300,000. In 1874, 32,000,000 
pounds weight of mackerel were taken on the Canadian 
coasts. 

There are about 60,000 tons register of American boats 
engaged in the mackerel fishery, chiefly from the States 
of Massachusetts and Maine, and employing 10,000 men. 
The quantity of mackerel taken by these boats sometimes 
amounts to 350,000 barrels, valued at ^^500,000. 

When an American vessel reaches a place where the 
fish are supposed to be plentiful, the master furls all his 
sails except the mainsail, brings his vessel's bow to the 
wind, ranges his crew at intervals along one of her sides, 
and, without a mackerel in sight, attempts to raise a school 



70 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

by throwing over bait. The baiter stands amidships, with 
a bait-box outside the rail, and with a tin cup nailed to a 
long- handle he scatters the bait on the water. If the 
mackerel appear, the men throw out short lines, to the 
hooks of which a glittering pewter jig is affixed. The fish, 
if they bite at all, generally bite rapidly, and are hauled in 
as fast as the most active man can throw out and draw in 
a line. As they pull them on board, the fisherman, with a 
jerk, throws them into a barrel standing beside him. So 
ravenously do they bite, that sometimes a barrelful is caught 
in 1 5 minutes by a single man. Some active young men 
will haul in and jerk off a fish and throw out the line for 
another with a single motion, and repeat the act in such 
rapid succession that their arms seem continually on the 
swing. While the school remains alongside and will take 
the hook, the excitement of the men, and the rushing 
noise of the fish in their beautiful and manifold evolu- 
tions in the water, arrest the attention of the most careless 
observer. 

The summer mackerel fishing is carried on in two 
ways, with hooks and lines, and with the seine. The greater 
number of fishermen use the hook and line. These are the 
crews of those beautiful schooners to be met with every- 
where in the southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence 
during the months of July, August, and September, and 
which from afar look more like a small squadron of yachts 
than a fleet of fishing vessels, so beautiful are their masts 
and sails, and so neat and clean are they kept. But on a 
nearer approach this is found to be an error, for on the 
decks of these vessels are to be seen crews of from lO to 
20 men, all occupied either in catching fish, in repairing 
fishing implements, or in splitting and salting fish that have 
been taken ; and what is most striking is the order that 



The Mackerel Fishery. 



71 



reigns on board of these schooners, whose decks and holds 
are almost always full of fish, fish barrels, salt, etc. 

Before sailing from their port of outfit for the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence, they provide themselves with several barrels 
of very fat little fish, called poggies, to serve as bait and 
as feed, for the purpose of attracting mackerel to the surface 
of the water and retaining them near the vessel. 

At a later period, when the poggies are exhausted, 
recourse is had to the ofial of the mackerel for bait, and it 
is prepared in this way : — Whole fishes, or the offal of fishes, 
either poggies, mackerel, or others, are chopped very fine 
in a machine something like a chaff or straw cutter, and 
then put into a large bucket full of salt water ; the mixture 
is then stirred for a long time with a small paddle, and this 
is the whole secret of preparing feed for mackerel. Machines 
for chopping up the fish are sold at from £\ to £\ \os., 
according to their size. 

As soon as the schooners have reached the place where 
schools of mackerel are usually found, they keep cruising 
backwards and forwards, and the moment there is the least 
appearance of fish, or their presence is even suspected near 
a vessel, the jibs are taken in, and the vessel is brought to, 
with the mizen-sail and mainsail veered half round. Feed 
is then scattered all around from small pails ; the fishermen 
seize their lines, bait their hooks with small pieces of the 
skin of the neck of the mackerel or of any other fish (but 
the mackerel is much preferable), and throw them into the 
water. The lines are fine, and made of hemp or cotton, 
generally the latter. They are from six to eight fathoms 
long, and to one end is fastened a small sinker of polished 
pewter, oblong in shape, and weighing about two ounces, 
on which is soldered a middle-sized hook. Each fisher- 
man plies two lines, one in each hand, and leans on the 



72 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

rail while fishing. He very seldom pays out more than 
four or five fathoms of line, for the mackerel, attracted by 
the chopped fish thrown overboard, thousands of pieces of 
which float in mid-water, leaves the depths of the sea, and 
comes swimming towards the surface to feast with avidity 
on this excellent bait, prepared for him with so much care ; 
and while he is gorging himself with pieces of poggie and 
mackerel, he seizes the bait on the fisherman's hook, and 
soon, in spite of his violent efforts to break the iron that is 
tearing his mouth, and to free himself, he is pulled out of 
the water and thrown upon the deck, where he dies before 
long. 

The fish are classed by the inspectors into four grades, 
the third and fourth quality being worth only half the value 
of No. I. They are packed for shipment in barrels, half 
quarter, and eighth barrels. Nos. i and 2 are intended for 
the home markets of the United States and Canada, the 
lowest quality being principally consumed in the West 
Indies. 

In curing them, the common custom is to dip them in 
fine salt before salting in the barrels. When this is neg- 
lected, the fish adhere together, and become red and 
tainted. The proper mode of packing is with the flesh 
side down ; this prevents the fish from tainting, and allows 
all impurities in the salt to settle away from the flesh of 
the fish. Mackerel are also cured in hermetically sealed 
tins, but not to a very large extent. In 1873 the quantity 
so packed was 21,000 cans in New Brunswick, and 10,842 
cans in Nova Scotia. 



( 73 ) 



CHAPTER V. 

THE SALMON FISHERY. 

Salmon formerly common in the Thames — Statistics of salmon brought to 
London — Value of the salmon fisheries in 1871 — Sales at Billingsgate — 
Salmon fisheries of Norway, Canadian Dominion, etc. — Acclimatization 
in Australia. 

At present one of the most esteemed fish is the salmon 
{Salmo salor). In the reign of Richard I. (i 197), the Thames 
is described as containing " remarkably good salmon ; " and 
even early in the present century the Thames abounded 
with salmon of the finest quality. " Thames salmon " then 
bore a higher price than that obtained from most other 
streams, and so copious was once the supply, that in the 
olden time it was usual to insert a clause in the indentures 
of London apprentices, that they should not be fed upon 
salmon more than a certain number of days in the month. 
Then came the time when the river water became impure. 
Not only was the population of the metropolis enormously 
increased, but, being well sewered, its vast network of 
drains poured their contents (by the authority of an Act 
of Parliament) into the river. Then gas-works were made, 
and their ammoniacal water still further poisoned the 
stream. Against these impurities the salmon could not 
contend ; they gradually, and at length totally, disappeared 
from the waters of our queen of rivers. 



74 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

It is difficult to obtain accurate statistics of the fish food 
which is drawn from the sea ; Ave can only guess at it from 
such data as have been made accessible. The followinsr 
statistics show the quantities of salmon (in boxes of 120 lbs. 
each) received and sold in London from 1850 to 1871 : — 



Years. 


Scotch. 


Irish. 


Dutch. 


Norwegian. 


English 

and 
Welsh. 


1850 


13.940 


2135 


105 


54 


72 


I55I 


11.593 


414I 


203 


212 


40 


1852 ... 


13,044 


3602 


176 


306 


20 


1853 ... 


19,485 


5052 


401 


1208 


20 


1854 ... 


23,194 


6333 


345 




128 


1855 - 


18,197 


4IOI 


227 




59 


1856 ... 


15,438 


6568 


68 


5 


200 


1857 ... 


18,654 


4904 


622 




220 


1858 ... 


2^,564 


6429 


973 


19 


499 


1859 ••- 


15,630 


4855 


922 




260 


1800 


15,870 


3803 


849 


40 


438 


1865 .. 


19,009 


6858 


1479 


1069 


868 


i86e> ... 


21,725 


9326 


1772 


1632 


1563 


1867 ... 


23,006 


541 1 


1203 


1296 


2405 


1868 ... 


28,020 


3487 


807 


407 


1725 


1869 ... 


20,474 


8800 


637 


696 


1843 


1870 ... 


20,648 


921I 


626 


852 


3120 


1871 ... 


23,390 


7379 


516 


1037 


2953 



The aggregate value of the salmon fisheries in 187 1 was 
estimated by the Fishery Commissioners as follows : — 
Scotland, ^200 ,000 \ Ireland, ^400,000 \ Kngland, ^90,000. 

At an average of i^. 2d. per lb., or £'j per box, the 
value of the 34,457 boxes sold at Billingsgate in 1870 was 
^^241, 1 99. Besides these metropolitan sales, 8600 boxes of 
Irish salmon were sold in the midland districts of England, 
2880 boxes in Dublin, and 2107 boxes and 31 baskets sent 
to Liverpool. The sales at Billingsgate in 1871 were 
35,275 boxes, weighing 1764 tons, valued at ;^246,925. 

The average annual sale of salmon in London may be 
taken to be i^2 $0,000 in value. 



The Salmon Fishery. 



75 



The main bulk of the salmon caught in Scotland, it 
appears, is sent to London ; but in the case of the salmon 
caught in the English and Welsh rivers, the bulk is not sent 
to London, but to the large towns in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of the fisheries. 

The salmon fishery in Norway is interdicted between 
the 14th September and the 14th February. Besides that 
which is smoked, salted, and consumed locally fresh, about 
250,000 lbs. are shipped annually to England in ice, and a 
small quantity to Berlin. It costs fresh about sixpence the 
pound, and the annual sales reach a value of 100,000. 
The export of salted salmon is from 1000 to 1200 barrels. 
Above LjQOO worth of salmon was shipped from Nor- 
way in 1869, exclusively for British account. The fish 
dealers, who come over in fishing smacks, purchase the 
fish from the fishermen as brought in, put the fish imme- 
diately in ice, and despatch the article to the London 
market direct, or via Grimsby. 

In New Brunswick the value of the salmon taken is 
estimated at about ^160,000 sterling. 

The fishery is very valuable. As many as 40,000 salmon 
have been caught in the course of a season at the mouth of 
the St. John, a large portion of which is sent fresh to the 
United States, and commands remunerative prices. At the 
entrance to the Miramichi 400,000 lbs. are annually put up, 
" preserved " for export. There is a great increase in the 
yield of salmon in consequence of their protection during 
the spawning season. 

Preserved salmon is exported from British Columbia on 
a large scale, and bears a very high reputation. In 1874 
there was barrelled and tinned not less than 14,500,000 lbs., 
of the gross value of ^^400,000 sterling. 

The catch of salmon at Oregon in 1874 was an enormous 



76 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

one, and the average take by the 13 existing preserving 
establishments was 1 5,000 fish per night for 26 nights. It 
was estimated that during the season 1,250,000 salmon 
were taken, weighing on an average 16 lbs. each, of which 
950,000 were canned fresh, and the remainder salted and 
barrelled. The following figures give an approximate 
return, for it is difficult to obtain precise statistics : — 

No. of fi&h Weight. Value, 

tinned. lbs. 

1872 ... 170,000 2,700,000 ... ;^86,400 

1873 ••• 360,000 ... 5,760,000 ... 168,000 

1874 ... 950,000 ... 14,400,000 ... 400,000 

In the last-named year 250,000 salmon, weighing 4,000,000 
lbs., were salted. Owing to the enormous increase of pro- 
duction, the market value of both canned and salted salmon 
has been much lowered. The average price was not over 
6s. per dozen i lb. cans. 

In 1876, during the fishing season, 18 establishments on 
the Lower Columbia river put up 428,730 cases of salmon. 
Of these over 400,000 cases contained four dozen i lb. tins, 
and the remainder consisted of 2 lb. and 2 J lb. tins. Over 
100,000 cases were shipped direct from Astoria to England 
in the first three months. In 1877 the total catch was 
378,325 cases. The total exports from San Francisco by 
sea to Europe and the colonies were 170,887 cases in 1876, 
and 160,982 cases in 1877. 

Attempts have been carried on for many years past, 
which have been attended with partial success, to acclima- 
tize the salmon in the Australian rivers, and considerable 
quantities of ova have also been sent out to Tasmania and 
New Zealand. 



( 77 ) 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE SARDINE FISHERY. 

Derivation of the name "sardine" — Extent of the French fishery — Mode of 
preparing the fish for market — Statistics of the fisheries — Dried sardines — 
The anchovy — The menhaden, or moss-bunker, prepared in oil in America. 

The purity and delicacy of the little fish (Chipea sprattus, 
Lin.) which haunts the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean 
is known everywhere ; its excellent keeping qualities, when 
preserved in oil, enabling it to be transported for an indefi- 
nite distance. It has much in common with the sprat in 
flavour, but also reminds the epicure of the anchovy, which 
is also common on the Mediterranean and other coasts of 
France. 

There are sardines and sardines, for the family to which 
this fish belongs includes the whitebait, the sprat, and the 
pilchard. As they were chiefly found in large shoals on 
the coasts of Sardinia, they have thence derived their 
popular name, and this has also been incorporated into the 
specific name of Chipea sardina, Cuvier. In Italy, how- 
ever, these fish are known as " sardella," and the anchovy 
as " sardon." 

The sardine fishery is eminently French. It is carried 
on from the Gulf of Gascony to the east. Quitting the 
Mediterranean, where they are born, the sardines, on the 



78 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



first approach of fine weather, pass in great shoals along 
the coast of Spain, and reach that of France about May or 
earlier. In Provence, on the Mediterranean, the fishing, 
however, commences in March and ends in June, while on 
the coasts of Britanny it only commences in July, and 
finishes early in October. The shoal increases as it 
approaches the north, hence the necessity of often 
changing the nature of the nets which are used with 
fisheries. 

From Douarnenez to Sables d'Olonne there are about 
2500 boats employed in this fishery. Each of these requires 
about 30 barrels of salted cod roe for bait during the season, 
and as this sometimes runs up in price to £a^ and £^ the 
barrel, this entails a very heavy outlay. Besides which, 
there are the other numerous ports of Bordeaux, Rochelle, 
Bayonne, etc.,' to be supplied. 

Two of the largest stations are at Douarnenez and 
Concarneau. Fleets of boats go out some five miles and 
spread out their nets, by the side of which some cod-roe is 
thrown to attract the fish. The nets are weighted at one 
end, and have corks attached to the other, so that they 
assume a vertical position — two nets being placed close to 
each other, that the fish trying to escape may be caught in 
the meshes. The fish is sold all over France (fresh when 
it is possible) half-salted, or salted and pressed into barrels, 
and preserved in oil. 

Brought to land, they are immediately offered for sale, 
as if staler by a few hours they become seriously deterio- 
rated in value ; no first-class manufacturer coming to buy 
such. They are sold by the thousand. The curer employs 
large numbers of women, who cut off the heads of the fish, 
v/ash, and salt them. The fish are then dipped into boiling 
oil for a few minutes, arranged in various-sized tin boxes 



The Sardine Fishery. 



79 



filled up with the finest olive oil, soldered down, and placed 
in boiling water for some time to test the boxes, and those 
which leak are put aside. Women burnish the tins, the 
labels are put on or sometimes enamelled on the tins, 
which are then packed in wooden cases, generally con- 
taining lOO tins, and are then ready for export. It does 
not always seem to be remembered that the longer the tin 
is kept unopened the more mellow do the fish become ; and, 
if properly prepared, age improves them as it does good 
wine ; but if they are too salt at first, age does not benefit 
them — they always remain tough. The sizes of the tins are 
known as half and quarter tins. There are two kinds of 
half tins, one weighing i8 ounces, and the other i6 ounces 
gross. The quarter tin usually weighs about seven ounces ; 
but there are larger quarter tins sometimes imported, 
which tins are still used in France, but seldom seen in 
England. 

Sardines in oil form the most important branch of the 
trade. It has become immense, and employs large numbers 
of people. A quarter of a century ago the shipment of 
sardines in oil from France was not above ;^24,ooo in value ; 
but in the last lO years it has ranged from ^500,000 to 
j^"/ 50,000, according to the abundance of the fish. About 
4500 boats, registering some 10,000 tons, are engaged in 
the sardine fishery. 

In 1866 the value of the French sardine fishery was a 
little over 7,000,000 francs. In 1873 it reached 13,757,534 
francs, and, owing to the abundant catch, the price fell to 
15 francs the 1000, against 75 francs the 1000 in 1872. 

In some years the sardines are most plentiful ; in others 
they are scarce. At Douarnenez and Concarneau, the 
principal centres, 884 boats were employed in 1866; and 
in the month of July these boats caught more than 



8o The Commercial Prodttcts of the Sea. 



110,000,000 sardines, the sale of which produced 707,648 
francs. By the end of August the fish were so abundant 
that they were sold as low as \s. 6d. the 1000, a thing not 
known for 10 years previously. 

In 1873, in the quarter of Auray, the sardine fishery 
was carried on by 239 boats. The catch amounted to 
43,170,000, of which 32,000,000 were tinned, 10,120,000 
were pressed or salted, and the rest locally consumed or 
sent into the interior. 

At L'Orient the catch was valued at 2,730,000 francs ; 
at Douarnenez, 2,976,551 francs ; at Quimper, 1,587,534 
francs; Brest, 291,836 francs ; Morlaix, 48,145 francs. Occa- 
sionally 1 1 5,000,000 sardines have been caught in a single 
season on the French coasts of the ocean. 

The French fisheries on the coast of Finistere and 
Morbihan are of very great importance. Large quantities 
of sardines, mackerel, and lobsters are caught ; and close 
upon 181,000 fishermen were employed during 1873. In 
1871-72 the quantity of sardines caught decreased, but 
during 1873 the catch was good. The value of preserved 
sardines exported alone from Brest to New York in 1873 
was ^56,640. 

Of fresh and salt water fish caught, the largest propor- 
tion goes by railway to Paris. During the year 1873 the 
fishing stations at Douarnenez, Audierne, and Guilvince 
(all on the Finistere) alone sent by rail to Paris more than 
4000 tons of fresh fish, and, strange to say, it can be 
purchased cheaper in Paris than fish of the same quality at 
Brest or neighbouring towns. 

The sardine frequents the bays and inlets of Gallicia ; 
and in the single province of Pontevedra there are more 
than 102 stations occupied in salting this fish, which is 
carried on by females. In 1873, 5,000,000 lbs. of these fish 



The Sardine Fishery. 



8i 



were shipped to Mediterranean ports and the Spanish 
West Indies. Very few are preserved, the French holding 
the monopoly of this trade. The fishery is carried on from 
July to February, but the fish are in the best condition and 
most abundant in November and December. 

Dried sardines hosi-ka ") in Japan are considered a 
superior manure, but the price is often too high for poor 
cultivators to use them. These small fish abound in some 
of the seas around, so that small boats can hardly make 
their way through them. They are caught in large shoals 
to extract the oil from them. This oil is used for burning 
by the lower classes, but is of very inferior quality, and 
gives off a good deal of black dense smoke. The residue, 
after the oil is extracted, is sold for manure. A cwt. of 
this manure costs about 3^. 6d. 

The Anchovy is another fish, the capture and cure of 
which gives extensive employment on the French Atlantic 
coast and in the Mediterranean. The value of the fish 
caught on the French coasts ranges from ^16,000 to 
;^"20,ooo per annum. The fishery is carried on from May 
to October. After gutting and removing the head, they 
are washed and simply placed in barrels, with layers of salt, 
and a little reddish ochreous earth added to give them a 
colour. 

Anchovies are also caught and salted in Norway, the 
shipments occasionally reaching 20,000 kegs. 

The Americans have begun to utilize the Menhaden, or 
moss-bunker, by preserving it in oil like the French sardines. 
This fish has been variously named Brevortea menhaden and 
Alosa menhaden. The objection to these fish for general 
use is that they are very bony. The American Sardine 
Company, by some mechanical process, have removed this 
objection. 

G 



82 The Commercial P^'oducts of the Sea. 

The preparation these fish go through is thus described : 
— They are first brought to the scaler, which consists of a 
long shaft, on which are twelve wheels filled with long 
blunt teeth. These revolve very rapidly, and take off every 
scale in an incredibly short space of time. From the 
scalers they are passed to hands who chop off the heads 
and cut out the entrails. They are then placed in the 
washing troughs, above which are a number of revolving 
circular brushes, by contact with which the insides are 
thoroughly cleaned. They are then deposited in pickle 
vats, where they remain for a few hours, until they are 
sufficiently salted ; after which they are spread upon large 
tables, and placed in cooking cans. They are then taken 
to the steaming tanks, of which there are seven, each 
having a capacity for holding looo boxes. From the 
steaming cans, they are again taken to the tables and 
transferred to the permanent cans, when they are oiled and 
spiced, and then handed over to the tinsmiths to be 
soldered. The time from the fish being brought to the 
factory until they are boxed and labelled, is three days. 

Now these fish are shipped in large quantities to every 
part of the States, and b)/ many are considered quite 
equal in flavour to the sardines imported from France to 
Italy. 



( 83 ) 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE TUNNY FISHERY. 

Tunny fishery in the Mediterranean — Size the fish attains — Description of a 
" madrague " — Statistics of the Italian fishery — Definition of terms used — 
Scabeccio, or tunny preserved in oil — Salted tunny — Fishery at Tunis and 
Algeria. 

The tunny {Thynmis vulgaris, Cuv.) is a common fish in 
the Mediterranean, and has been known and celebrated 
from the remotest antiquity. The Mediterranean is, of all 
the seas, that least abundant in variety of fish, only nourish- 
ing about 440 species. 

In Sicily the tunny forms one of the most considerable 
branches of the commerce of the island. In France it is 
much used, and is cooked in a variety of ways. It is 
frequently taken on the Atlantic coast, but must be con- 
sidered a wanderer from more southern latitudes, and is 
there known by its popular name of " horse mackerel and 
albicore." In America its flesh is not held in estimation. 

On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea it is found in 
great abundance, and forms one of the chief sources of 
wealth of the seaside population. The flesh is highly 
esteemed, and eaten both fresh and salted. It is exten- 
sively used in the Italian countries, pickled in various 
ways, boiled down in soups, and made into pies, which are 
thought to be very excellent, and possess the valuable 



84 The Commercial Prodttcts of the Sea. 



property of remaining good for nearly two months. The 
different parts of the fish are called by appropriate names, 
and are said to resemble beef, veal, and pork. 

The shape of the tunny is not unHke the mackerel, but 
it is larger, rounder, and has a shorter snout. The general 
average length is about four feet, but sometimes it attains 
a length of 10 or 12 feet. One was recently caught in a 
mackerel net off INIartha's Vineyard, and exhibited by 
Eugene Blackford, at Fulton market, New York city, that 
weighed over 700 lbs., and was 14 ft. 10 in. in length. 
De Kay, in his work, mentions one that was taken near 
Cape Ann that weighed about 1000 lbs. These are the 
largest tunny fish caught in America of which we have 
any information. 

In May and June the tunnies move in vast shoals along 
the shores of the Mediterranean, seeking for suitable places 
to deposit their spawn. They are seen by sentinels, who 
are on the watch, and nets are prepared for their capture. 
These nets are of two kinds, one a common seine and the 
other called a "madrague." The outer portions of the 
madrague intercept the fish, and on their endeavouring to 
retreat they are forced to enter one of many chambers. 
They are thus driven from one chamber to another until 
they are forced into the last and smallest, which is signifi- 
cantly called the " chamber of death." This chamber is 
furnished with a floor of net, to which are attached a 
series of ropes, so that by hauling on the ropes the floor 
is drawn up and the fish brought to the surface. They 
struggle fiercely for liberty, but are speedily stunned by 
blows from long poles, and lifted into boats. From 5000 
to 6000 tons of tunny fish have been shipped in some 
years from Elba. 

The tunny fisheries, which supply the labouring popu- 



The Tunny Fishery. 85 



lation of the Sicilian coasts during the summer months 
with employment and food, generally yield more than 
enough for home consumption. The surplus, preserved 
in oil or salt, forms, together with anchovies, sardines, and 
sturgeons, a considerable article of export from Sicily. In 
1866 the fishery carried on in the "parages" of the Isle of 
St. Pierre, situate on the south coast of Sardinia, yielded 
15,850 tunny fish, weighing nearly 3,000,000 lbs., and 
approximately valued locally at ;^5 1,000. In 1869 the 
shipments amounted in value to about ^^25,000, in 1870 to 
^22,000, and in 1871 to about ^35,000. This fish is 
exported to England, the north of Europe, to Italy, and 
also to Greece and Turkey. 

The fishery occasionally employs at Palermo 1000 boats 
and 3500 men. 

The produce of the tunny fishery at Caloforte, Italy, in 
1874 was : — 

Kilogrammes. Francs. 
Tunny in oil ... 301,000 ... ... 590,400 

,, salted ... 18,400 ... ... 9,800 

Eggs and entrails ... 22,230 ... ... 24,200 

Tunny oil... ... 30,850 ... ... 36,000 

372,480 660,400 

The value of the fishery in 1873 was as high as 4,248,700 
francs (about ^170,000). 

The tunny fishery of 1875 from Cagliari, though better 
than that of 1874, was below the average yield, the value 
of the products not reaching 1,000,000 francs. 

The exports of tunny fish salted and pickled from 
Sardinia in twelve years were as follows : — 

lbs. 

3 years ending 1854 ... ... ... 3,777,280 

1857 7,596,904 

„ i860 ... ... 3,493,013 

»» 1863 2,152,453 



86 The Commercial Prodttcts of the Sea. 

For the last seven or eight years the " inatanzas," or 
takes of tunny, at Tunis have proved very equal and good, 
Were the fish to exceed 14,000 in one season, they would be 
beyond the preserving and curing capabilities of the estab- 
lishment. The nets are laid jutting out to sea for upwards 
of a mile, and are so placed as to form several chambers ; 
the outer compartments are made of esparto grass-rope 
nets, of very large meshes, which gradually decrease in 
size as the "corpo," or slaughtering compartment, is ap- 
proached. The nets in this part are made of the finest 
hempen cordage. 

The tunny, in their annual spring migration from the 
ocean to the Archipelago and the Black Sea, follow either 
the southern or northern shores of the Mediterranean in all 
their windings. A tonnara is so constructed off a promon- 
tory or headland as to offer an obstruction to the fish, which, 
in endeavouring to avoid it, enter compartment after com- 
partment. Their migratory instinct is so strong, that they 
never appear tempted to retrace their course, but always 
endeavour to find a way out towards the east, which is 
barred to them. 

On a sufficient number of tunny fish being noted in the 
"corpo," a net is lowered at its entrance, and the net, 
which forms the bottom of it, is gradually drawn up 
towards the surface, so as to bring the fish within the reach 
of the men, the majority of whom, about 160 in number, 
are in two immense lighters, armed with harpoons and 
boat-hooks, by means of which the tunny are killed and 
drawn into the barges. A few of the men are also in small 
boats in the centre of the enclosure. As many as 700 fish 
are occasionally secured in a single " matanza," but more 
usually from 400 to 500. From 30 to 35 days are ex- 
pended in laying down the nets and otherwise preparing 
for work. 



The Tunny Fishery, 



87 



The first " mataiiza " of the season generally takes place 
about the loth of May, and the last on the 30th of June, 
or thereabouts. To secure the high prices of an early 
market, the first " matanza " is hastened as much as pos- 
sible, and takes place if even 200, or only 150, tunny have 
entered the corpo." 

The fish are killed and landed in the morning, and 
allowed to drain until the evening, when they are cleaned 
and cut up. The " scabeccio " — tunny preserved in oil — 
is boiled for an hour, and then allowed to cool and dry, 
when it is quickly packed in barrels already prepared for 
its reception, and about a third of a "metal " of oil (if im- 
perial gallon) is poured into each barrel, great care being 
taken that it should permeate the whole contents, and that 
no vacuum should exist when closed. The same process is 
observed for the tunny preserved in tin cans, only that the 
air is more thoroughly excluded and exhausted by steam 
power. The operation of salting the fish is more expe- 
ditious, for, whilst the " scabeccio " to be prepared requires 
from four to five days, the salting takes but a day or a day 
and a half. The oil extracted from tunny is much used by 
curriers and in the tanning trade, and is extracted from the 
heads, dorsal and other bones, and refuse, the whole being 
placed in an immense cauldron, capable of holding 800 
heads and 400 skeletons at a time, and allowed to boil for 
24 hours. The bones after boiling are subjected to com- 
pression in powerful presses, and thus but little of the oil 
they contain is lost. 

In a good season the Sidi Daud fishery, Tunis, furnishes 
from 10,000 to 14,000 tunny, but they vary considerably in 
size from one year to another. In 1870 the fish were larger 
than those of 1871, although some of the tunny caught 
measured eight and a half feet in length, and four feet in 



88 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

diameter at the neck, the widest part of the body. From 
2O0O to 3000 fish are sufficient to pay the whole of the 
expenses of a season. The average yield is for 1000 fish 
to produce 120 barrels of "scabeccio." 

In 1 87 1, 3200 barrels of " scabeccio " were made, and 
sold at more than £6 \os. the 100 kilogrammes ; and 
90,000 kilogrammes of tunny were put up in tin cans, which 
realized more than the 100 kilogrammes. Eight thousand 
barrels of salted fish were sold at about £\ a^s. per barrel ; 
and 40,000 kilogrammes of oil (65,460 imperial gallons) 
produced more than ;^'40 the 1000 kilogrammes. Two 
thousand "metals" (about 10,250 imperial gallons) of the 
best olive oil were expended in the preservation of the 
above quantities of fish. 

Very few of the fish are sent in a fresh state to the 
Tunis market ; about 50 only are presented by the pro- 
prietor to the Bey, local and foreign authorities, and other 
Tunisian officials. The roes, milts, hearts, sounds, and all 
other coarse parts of the fish are the perquisites of the 
fishermen, and are preserved and sold on their own account. 
The roes are chiefly sent to Italy, and are there sold at 
from 2s. 6d. to 4^-. the pair. Upwards of 200 barrels of 
inferior parts of tunny were salted on account of the men 
in 1871. 

It appears, moreover, that the demand for preserved 
tunny is at present limited to the countries bordering on 
the Mediteranean, and the ten tonnaras in Sicily, one in 
Calabria, six in Sardinia, and one or two in France, Spain, 
and other parts of Italy, produce sufficient for actual 
requirements. In Germany tunny is beginning to be 
known and called for, but it took six months last year to 
dispose of 200 tin boxes that were sent to England as 
a commercial experiment Nevertheless the best qualities 



The Ttmny Fishery. 



89 



of tunny only require to be better known in England to be 
highly appreciated. 1 870 and 1871 proved disastrous 
seasons for the Italian tonnaras, the tunny fish having, 
unaccountably, almost entirely failed to make their accus- 
tomed appearance, and the two most famed tonnaras of 
Trapani only secured 2000 fish each in 1871, whilst others 
were forced to break up their establishments from want of 
success, before the season was half over. 

Tunny fish preserved in oil (" scabeccio ") is much used; 
the price is about ^3 5^. the cwt., and the produce of the 
fishing in 1871 was — 

Scabeccio preserved, in barrels .., ;,^io,336 

Salted tunny ... ... ... 10,200 

Scabeccio in tin cans ... ... 7,200 

Tunny oil ... ... ... ... 1,600 

The export of tunny fish from Tunis in 1873 was : — 

Salted, to the value of ... ... ... £^^^ 

Pickled in oil ... ... ... 4S13 

This fishery might be profitably carried on in Algeria. 
Arzeu has one small madrague, where on some days as 
many as 300 tunny fish have been taken. 400 or 500 
persons could be profitably occupied in this fishing. A 
madrague established at Sidi Feruch, or at Cape Matefou, 
would give during the season, at each lift of the nets (an 
operation which might be renewed several times during the 
week), 300 or 400 tunny fish, weighing from 60 lbs. to 
600 lbs. It might be salted or marinated, and as this fish 
will keep fresh for a week, it might be shipped to supply 
the Marseilles market. It could only be carried on during 
the months of March to June. 



90 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER VIIL 

CRUSTACEA. 

Useful or food-supplying Crustacea — The lobster — The British fishery — Size to 
which lobsters grow — Technical names by which they are sold in Billings- 
gate — Supply of crabs — Crab-pots — Lobster fishery in America — Change 
of colour in boiling — Statistics of the trade in canning lobsters, etc. — 
The Norway lobster fishery. 

Among the cmstacea we have the useful or food- 
supplying kinds, such as the boiled lobster and the canned 
or tinned lobster ; the edible crabs of the market, used for 
food, and the king-crab for manure ; large prawns, used 
in place of the lobster on the west coast of America ; those 
sold in the markets of Europe, at New York, and the east 
and south coasts of America ; the smaller shrimps and 
prawns, held in esteem by various nations, and many of 
which serve for bait. The liquid fat of the hermit-crab 
{Pagiims sp), under the name of " manteca de ladron," is 
used in Venezuela to cure laxations of the bowels. 

The shell of the king-crab {Limulns polyphemtis) is used 
on the American coasts as a boat-bailer. 

Of the crustaceans, the lobster is that which is most in 
demand, although the more common crab is, of the two, 
most digestible and nourishing. But the lobster has always 
been held in estimation as a food delicacy, and from being 
so sought for, leads to a very extensive commerce. Besides 



Crustacea. 



91 



the British supplies — of which we have no very rehable 
returns — the bulk of our imports come from Norway and 
Sweden, and it may be interesting to glance at the statistics 
of the trade generally. 

The British Fishery. — Lobsters are brought to Greenock 
in large numbers from the western islands, chiefly from Skye, 
in boxes containing from four to five dozen, and are there 
transferred, for facility and economy of carriage by rail, to 
tea chests, into each of which from 50 to 100 fish, according 
to size, are carefully packed, and forwarded regularly and 
in large quantities in this way to Liverpool, Manchester, 
Birmingham, and London, in each of which towns is located 
a branch of a great firm — originally of Aberdeen — to whom 
are continually consigned enormous quantities offish from all 
parts of the coast. Much more might be done on the coasts 
of the British Islands in the matter of lobsters, especially in 
Ireland. In a report on the Irish Fisheries, it was stated 
that — " Lobsters may be taken in any quantity ; 20,000 
or 30,000 a week might be easily captured on about 20 
miles of the coast of Clifden, Buffen Island, and Bunown, 
but the people have no means of taking them. They only 
fish close to the shore, and large lobsters cannot go into the 
pots used. Those of five or six pounds or eight or nine 
pounds weight are only taken by clinging to the sides of 
the pots ; and if the fishermen had boats sufficient to go 
out to the rocks seven or eight miles off, they, with proper 
gear, would take the finest fish in the world, and in the 
greatest quantities. They may be had in season every day 
in the year that men could venture out to set the pots, but 
they never do so in the winter." The size and age to which 
lobsters sometimes attain was evidenced by one caught a 
few years ago in Plymouth Sound in a trawl net, which was 
reported in the Field of June 2nd. Its length was, from the 



92 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

tip of the claws to end of tail, 3 ft. 2 in.; weight, 15 lbs. 2^oz. 
Several small oysters, mussels, and barnacles were adhering 
to the shell, and it was supposed to be 100 years old, although 
what grounds there were for the assumption were not stated. 

Crabs and lobsters are supplied to the London market 
from the east, south, and west coasts of England, from 
Cornwall and the Channel Islands. The crayfish nearly 
all come from Sennen Cove, near the Land's End, and the 
greater part of these are sent to France. The crabs received 
from Dunbar are very small, som.e of them not more than 
three inches across ; they are called in the market " Dunbar 
bugs." Very small crabs are also received from Scar- 
borough ; one dealer in the season receives about 20 barrels 
per day, each barrel containing 200. After paying ex- 
penses and carriage, it is calculated that the fishermen can 
only realize 4^". for 200 crabs, and 20s. for 100 lobsters. 
Crabs are much wanted for the seaside markets in August 
and September. 

Lobsters are sold in Billingsgate by curious ancient 
terms, viz., a "worst Nancy," which equals 40 small lobsters ; 
a " best Nancy," which is 40 lobsters of a larger size. 
According to sizes above this, lobsters are sold by a " best 
Double," a Score, and a Ten. 

The supply of crabs to London has diminished more 
than half, both in size and number. Many crabs come 
from the West of England, Cornwall, and Devon. The price 
has gone up fully 30 per cent. ; a crab eight or ten years 
ago worth 2s. is now worth 3^-. 6d. The sale for crabs 
begins to fall off in October, and does not begin again till 
March. The chief time for the sale of crabs and lobsters 
is May, June, July, and August. In winter the crabs are 
watery. Crabs and lobsters are in best condition in warm 
weather. 



Crustacea. 



93 



The crabs at Cromer and the neighbourhood are counted 
by a peculiar standard. Thus, two crabs are counted as 
one, the two crabs being called "a cast;" six score of crabs 
is called a hundred ; therefore lOO crabs is strictly 240. 

There are about 50 boats, each worked by two men, 
used by the Cromer fishermen. Each boat would set from 
30 to 35 pots. These crab-pots cost about '^s. A good 
catch for a boat in two tides' fishing would be about 180 
crabs. Supposing the 50 boats had good luck, they would 
catch about 9000 crabs a day. Sizeable crabs are sold in 
the Norwich and London markets at the average of 5oj-. 
the long hundred, or nearly ^d. each. At Sherningham 
there are about 100 crab boats, and each boat has about 
20 pots. 

The crab-pots are set out to sea from the foreshore to 
the distance of about two miles. The extent of the united 
Cromer and Sherningham crab fisheries is about eight and 
a quarter miles long by two wide. 

The crab-pots are made of a cage of thick, strong 
netting, fastened across bows of iron or wood. This cage 
is I ft 9 in. long, and i ft. 3 in. across the bottom. The 
crabs enter the pots through two funnel-shaped doors, 
which act on the principle of a mouse-trap ; a side door 
can easily be let down, and the crabs removed. The bait 
used for catching crabs are flat-fish, usually called " butts." 
The small crabs called toggs " are also much used, 
smashed up, for bait, and are sold in large quantities, 
scarcely fetching a penny each retail, to the great injur}- 
of the fishery. 

The crab and lobster fisheries of Ireland continue to be 
prett}' productive ; but with a view to their better preser\-a- 
tion, regulations have been laid down, limiting the size of 
crabs to be taken to five inches in length across the back at 



94 The Commercial Pi'o ducts of the Sea. 

their greatest measurement, and lobsters to nine inches from 
the end of the tail to what is usually called the tip of the 
beak. 

Lobsters used to be taken in great numbers near the 
village of Usan, near Montrose, and 60,000 or 70,000 were 
sent annually to London, and sold at the rate of 2^d. apiece, 
provided they were five inches round the body; if less, two 
were allowed for one. The home supply of lobsters is not 
now, however, so large as the foreign supply. 

The supply to London has fallen off very much these 
last few years ; the price has risen considerably, as com- 
pared to what it was formerly; the scarcity is beginning 
to be felt. Lobsters arrive in London from Scotland, 
Southampton (where they are kept alive), Norway, Sweden, 
Ireland, and France. The Norway lobsters are considered 
very good, and so are those from the Orkneys. 

The lobster is never so good as when in the condition 
of a berried hen. Berried hens occur most frequently in 
April, May, and June. They begin to lose their berries 
or eggs about July, but still many berried hens occur in 
July. The use of the berries is almost entirely devoted to 
cooking ; they are used in many preparations by the West- 
End cooks, especially for the colouring and enriching of 
sauces. The " chefs " are also fond of coral out of the 
body of the lobster. 

Occasionally, in the month of May, as much as six 
ounces of berries will be taken from a lobster weighing 
three to three pounds and a half There are about 6720 
eggs in an ounce of lobster spawn. 

The Norwegian lobsters are best in season in May 
to August ; the Scotch lobsters begin to fall off in August. 
The shell of the Scotch lobster is thick, and when boiled is 
of a dark colour, and covered with white specks. The 



Crustacea. 



95 



shell of the Norwegian oyster is thin, and of a bright red 
colour. 

The Lobster Fishery of America. — Lobster fishing has 
been followed at Marshfield and Plymouth, Massachusetts, 
for 30 years and more. From 50,000 to 100,000 lobsters 
are taken annually, and sold to the smacks for the Boston 
market, and to pedlars for the inland. 

On the North American coasts a large trade is done 
in putting up lobsters in tins. For some years past the 
packing-houses of Portland, Maine, have shipped lobsters 
in tins to England in ever-increasing quantites. The taste 
thus acquired has created a demand for the article in a 
fresh and more palatable state. To supply this demand, 
the Portland firm of Marston and Sons, extensive dealers, 
conceived the idea of shipping live lobsters by the British 
steamers which ply between Liverpool and that port. The 
efforts made in that direction have not, however, been very 
successful, the number transported which reached their 
destination alive being very small. The packing of lobsters 
in America has become so enormous that, at the present 
rate of canning, serious apprehensions are felt in some 
quarters that the supply will not last many years longer. 
A few years ago it was not uncommon to catch lobsters 
weighing from 10 to 20 pounds each; now the average 
is from three to six pounds, and growing less, thousands 
which are caught weighing but little over one pound each. 

Quite a fleet of small vessels is employed in this 
important branch of commercial industry. The Americans 
having almost denuded their own coast of this useful and 
valuable crustacean, are now busy fishing for it on the 
British Atlantic coasts. 

Prior to the year 1869, no mention is made in the 
Canadian Fishery reports of the yield of lobsters. 



96 The Co))U}icrcial Products of tJic Sea. 



In that year 52,400 one-pound cans or tins were put up 
in Nova Scotia. In 1870 the quantity preserved was more 
than ten times as great, namely, 553,000 cans, valued at 
about ']\d. each. In 1871 the quantity preserved in that 
province rose to 905,500 tins. In the next two years the 
export trade had wonderfully increased, yet the wholesale 
price ran up to \s. per tin. 

The whole quantity preserved in Nova Scotia was 
returned at — 

Tins. Value. 

1872 2,422,508 ;^I2I,IIS 

1873 3,462,298 173.II5 

In New Brunswick only 38,500 cans were put up in 
1869; in 1871 the quantity had increased to 224,000 
tins, and in the two subsequent years the advance was as 
follows : — 

Tins. V.Tliie 

1872 1,055,485 ;^27,740 

1873 1,387,700 69,400 

The business of " canning " lobsters is annually ex- 
tending, and threatens the annihilation of the beds, but 
it is now proposed that no lobsters shall be taken with the 
eggs attached, or weighing less than one pound and a 
half. By this means the destruction will, it is hoped, be 
limited, and the same error which was committed in the 
case of the salmon fisheries prevented. 

In 1873 more than 4,000,000 one-pound tins of lobsters 
were sent from British North America into the markets of 
the world. In 1874 the value of the lobsters preserved 
was i^203,ooo, besides the fresh ones sent to the United 
States, valued at ^24,000. 

In some parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence they are so 
plentiful that, notwithstanding their increased commercial 



Crustacea. 



97 



value since the foundation of this new industry, good 
marketable lobsters are used to manure the fields. 

The proprietor of a large establishment at Shippagaw 
writes: "The heavy gale of August, 1873, drove more 
lobsters ashore within five miles of my packing-houses than 
I could make use of during the whole summer. They 
formed a row of from one to five feet deep, and I should 
estimate them at an average of 1000 to every two rods of 
shore." 

Lobsters are taken in wicker baskets, called lobster-pots. 
These are about three feet long and two feet wide, of a 
semi-cylindrical form ; that is, the bottom flat, and the 
sides and top in the form of an arch. At each end is an 
opening for the ingress of the lobster ; around this opening 
are placed short, flexible pieces of wood, projecting into 
the basket, so arranged that they will easily separate and 
allow the lobster to enter, but their points close together 
after him and prevent his egress. They have a door upon 
the top, through which the lobster is taken out. A long 
line is attached to these pots ; a heavy stone, sufficient to 
sink it, is placed inside. They are baited with the heads 
or offal of fresh fish, and sunk to the bottom at about low- 
water mark ; the other end of the line is made fast to a 
block of light wood, called a buoy. The fishermen go out 
with their wherries freighted with these pots, and drop 
them at short intervals along the shore. During the season 
of lobster fishing, which lasts from March to July in 
America, hundreds of these buoys may be seen bobbing up 
and down like so many seals' heads. The fishermen visit 
them every morning, draw them up alongside of their 
boats, take out the lobsters, replenish the bait, and drop 
them again into the water. The lobsters, when first taken, 
are very fierce, and seize with their strong pincers upon 

H 



98 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 

whatever may be within their reach. When thrown to- 
gether in the boat, they will grapple and tear off each other's 
feelers and legs. Without much care in handling them the 
fingers of the fishermen get many a hard bite. To prevent 
them from injuring each other, the fishermen provide sharp- 
pointed wooden pegs, which they insert into the joint or 
hinge of their pincers ; this prevents them from closing. 
When they have visited all their pots they row to their 
landing-place. If they now wish to preserve them for 
several days, they put them into a long box or kennel, made 
of plank, and bored full of holes, which is moored in the 
water at a little distance from the shore. If they wish to 
prepare them immediately for market, they are taken ashore 
in hand-barrows and carried to a sort of shed, in which is 
fixed a large cauldron in which they are boiled. 

The cause of the change of colour in the crustaceans 
after boiling has been investigated by several scientific 
inquirers. It is found to be due to two or three pigments, 
scarlet, blue, and green. The lobster, crayfish, and crab 
take a vermilion hue ; the prawn acquires a bright rose 
colour, and the grey shrimp a slight rose tint, bordering 
on violet. 

There are now about 67 canning establishments in 
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which use up from three 
to five tons each per day in the season, which lasts from four 
to six months, making a total annual destruction of at least 
30,000 tons. Every season the number of canning estab- 
lishments is increasing, and of course the destruction will 
increase proportionately. As no supply, however large, can 
stand a ceaseless and increasing drain, unless means are 
taken to supply the waste, it is evident that this valuable 
supply must soon become exhausted by over-fishing. 

The whole of the edible part of the lobster is not 



Crustacea. 



99 



utilized by the curers, who say that the trouble of picking 
out the flesh from the claws is too great, and that lobsters 
are too cheap to make it worth while to go to the expense 
of this slight additional labour. 

Lobster Fishery in Norway, etc. — There are many other 
countries where the business of preserving lobsters in tins 
might be profitably carried on — Norway for example. 
From the port of Stromstad, in Sweden, about 50,000 are 
also sent annually to England. 

The Norway lobster is the Nephrops Norvegiciis. This 
crustacean is caught in the fiords from the southern ex- 
tremity up to the Lofoden Islands ; but it has been 
noticed for some years that there is a tendency in the 
lobster to keep more towards the north, where they are 
found of larger size. They are often taken by means of a 
common cask, the bottom of which is replaced by boughs, 
and a hole is left for the lobster to enter, attracted by the 
bait of the fresh herring suspended, but it cannot get out 
again. Osier pots are also used, but of a more oblong 
shape than those employed with us. The trade is pretty 
much centralized at Christiansund. The lobsters are there 
placed in large reservoirs made in the centre of the fiord, 
where they are kept alive until despatched to Belgium and 
England. A part are sent off in wooden boxes, and others 
in quick-sailing vessels, with holds having reservoirs capable 
of holding 10,000 to 12,000 lobsters, the sea water passing 
freely through holes pierced in the ship's side. 

The commerce in lobsters in Belgium is not in a very 
good state. In 1871 several cargoes were imported from 
Brittany ; but these lobsters are larger than those of 
Norway, and the flesh is not so good, and yet they sell at a 
somewhat higher price. The whole of the fishery in Nor- 
way is monopolized by English speculators, so that it is 



lOO The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

difficult to buy a lobster, excepting of a diminutive size 
without breach of contract, or paying comparatively an 
exorbitant price. 

The number exported annually from Norway ranged in 
the early part of the century from 600,000 to 800,000 ; from 
1825 to 1829 it was higher, reaching an average of 1,280,000; 
in 1848, 607,282 were sent away. The annual export from 
1853 to 1859 was about 800,000. In the ten years ending 
with 1870 the average number shipped was 1,500,000. In 
the last five or six years the number has fallen somewhat 
below 1,000,000. 

The number of lobsters exported was in — 



1870 ... ... ... ... 1,207,194 

1871 ... ... ... ... 1,045,063 

1872 ... ... ... ... 899,708 

1873 919,944 

1874 ... ... 749,074 

1875 ••• ••• ••• 880,630 

1876 ... ... ... ... 1,270,348 



The lobster is the largest and most useful of the crus- 
taceans of Europe. It is met with along the whole coast 
of Norway up to the Arctic circle, in the sea and in the fiords, 
but especially between Christiania and Loudmore. 

The fishery for lobsters is well regulated on all the 
coasts of Sweden and Norway as far as Molde. It is pro- 
hibited between the 15th July and 15th October. Each 
boat has about 30 bow-nets, and wooden cases with open- 
ings at each end, having the form of elongated casks. 
They are sunk about 38 fathoms deep by means of 
stones, after being baited with waste fish, and are examined 
night and morning. The claws of the lobster are fastened 
that the animals may not injure each other, and they are 
shipped in fast-sailing, welled vessels that hold from 15,000 
to 20,000. About 3,000,000 are taken annually in Norway 



Crustacea. 



lOI 



and Sweden ; these are sold at ^d. to 6d. each, according 
to size. Those less than eight inches, or which have lost 
a claw, are only worth half this price, and they are now 
prohibited to be sold. 

The Cape lobster {Palinuriis Lalandii, Lam.) is used as 
food by the colonists. It is peculiar to the west coast, and 
common in Table Bay ; is easily caught in vast numbers 
all the year round, and attains a length of 13 inches and a 
breadth of nearly five inches. The flesh of the half-grown 
individual is tender and delicate, but that of the adult is 
coarse and difficult of digestion. To the poorer classes this 
crustacean is a regular godsend, and it is occasionally 
dried for preservation. 

A part of the west coast of New Jersey, not far from 
Cape May, is infested in May and June by swarms of huge 
inedible crabs, and these are collected and ground up for 
manure. As to their eggs, one may almost say that the 
sand of the beach consists of their eggs, for they are scooped 
up by the bushel and thrown to the pigs and poultry. 

A large number of fine crabs are caught on the coasts 
of Norway, which only cost about \d. or id. each on the 
spot. They are met with in incredible numbers in the 
fiords on the west coast, especially where it is rocky. There 
are often 40 or 50 taken at a time in a cask or crab-pot, 
and they are frequently 11 inches long. The crab is not 
eaten by the coast populations, and it sells at a very low 
price, even in the markets of Bergen and Stavanger. Crabs 
are chiefly used cut up for fish bait. Lately an attempt 
has been made to preserve them in tins for export, and 
specimens were sent to the Paris Exhibition in 1878. 

A fishery for small crayfish is carried on in the bays of 
the river Konki, in Russia, and the tails are dried for 
sale. A pound will contain about 300 of these pieces. 



I02 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

Various crabs, crayfish, and prawns are regularly col- 
lected, and eaten or sold as food by the natives of India. 
All the species thus used are, however, caught in lagoons 
or fresh-water lakes, with the exception of some land-crabs. 
Prawns in Madras are usually avoided by Europeans, as 
they are mostly caught in the river Cooum, which is little 
else than a common sewer. Some of the crabs are 
pleasant to eat, but not always safe. Among those eaten 
are Lttpa sangidloneuta, Desm., and L. Tranquebarica^ 
Edwards, and Thelpkusa Leschenaultii. 

Crayfish and lobsters are very abundant on the west 
coast of South America. At Juan Fernandez they are 
found in such large quantities that the fishermen have no 
greater trouble to take them than to strew a little meat or 
bait upon the shore, and when they come to devour it, as 
they do in immense numbers, to turn them on their backs 
with a stick. By this simple method many thousands are 
taken annually ; and the tails, which are in high estima- 
tion, are dried and sent to Chilca. 

At Marennes, in France, the fishery for shrimps brings 
in a return of £^oo a year. 

The British Shrimp Fishery. — Shrimping is pursued 
extensively on many of our sandy coasts. 

The chief occupation of the Leigh fishermen is catching 
shrimps. This they do throughout the summer months. 
The smaller boats continue to catch them during the 
winter ; but the larger vessels, when the demand for 
shrimps falls ofi", go farther away to sea, hand and long 
lining for cod, or fit out with stow-boat gear for catching 
sprats, or go trawling. They fish during winter about the 
Swin, the Barrow Deeps, the Waleet, and other places, 
remaining at sea for weeks together ; but in the summer 
their practice is to go out one tide and return the next ; 



Crustacea. 



103 



and a very pretty sight it is to see this little fleet of 150 
vessels all working in and out of Leigh Creek together, 
boats of all sizes, and sails of every cut and colour, and if 
it be about sunrise or evening time when this happens, it 
makes a most charming picture. 

Shrimps are caught all over the sands that He in the 
Thames estuary. The manner of catching them is this. 
An apparatus is constructed in the following manner : — A 
frame of wood about six or eight feet long (it may be of 
any size) is formed, and upon this is placed a net, in such a 
manner that the net and frame, when complete, shall form 
a long-pointed bag ; to the wooden frame is attached a 
long rope, by which it is lowered to the bottom, and when 
there dragged along by the motion of the boat through the 
water. The edge of the wooden frame scrapes along the 
sand and compels the shrimps to enter the net ; when in, 
they quickly get back to the end of the pocket, where the 
mesh is fine, and they are secured. Each boat is provided 
with three or four of these little trawls. At Gravesend, 
where there is also a large fleet of craft employed in 
shrimping, they use a much larger description of net, and 
each boat is sufficiently equipped with one of these. 

Shrimping boats must be provided w4th a well, in which 
the shrimps are placed the moment they are caught. As 
soon as they are taken from this well, on the arrival of the 
boat at Leigh, they are placed in a copper of boiling sea 
water and boiled at once ; when cool, they are forwarded 
to London as quickly as possible. 

As many as 1000 gallons of shrimps are sometimes 
sent to London in a single day from this place alone. 

Shri7nps and Prawns, etc.^ in other Countries. — Prawns at 
Tunis are of great size, six to seven inches long. Tunis, 
the ancient Carthage, was always celebrated for them, and 



I04 The Commercial Prodticts of the Sea. 

the Roman emperors used to send for them for their 
banquets. 

Shrimps are collected in large quantities on the east 
coast of Norway. One species (Pandanus borealis), dis- 
tinguished by its red colour and great size, being three or 
four times larger than the ordinary shrimp, is fished for 
exclusively at Svelvig, and sold at Drammen, where it is 
much sought after. 

Large quantities of dried shrimps form an important 
article of consumption and export at Maranham, in Brazil. 
In the eastern countries, as in India, there is a large 
commerce in them ; and a shrimp powder is also used as 
food there, composed of dried shrimps pounded up with 
salt, spices, etc. The species used are Penceus affinis and 
another species. From the port of Chefoo, China, 6500 to 
8500 cwt. of dried prawns are annually exported. From 
the port of Newchwang there was sent to other Chinese 
ports, in 1871, nearly 2000 cwt. of dried shrimps and 300 
cwt. of shrimp husks. From Manila large quantities are 
also shipped. 

Only a few Australian Crustacea are applied to any use. 
The Great Murray River crayfish or lobster {Astacoides 
serratiis) is brought in great numbers to market, and is 
generally used at table as the lobster is in Europe. The 
smaller crayfish (Astacoides qidnquecarhiatus) is not sold in 
the markets, but is commonly eaten in the vicinity of the 
many streams and rivers in which it is found in abundance. 
The great marine spiny crayfish or lobster, found abun- 
dantly at the Port Phillip Head, is constantly exposed in 
the shops and used at table in salads, etc. It seems to be 
a variety of the Homarus aiimilicornis, or a very closely 
allied species. 



( I05 ) 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE TREPANG FISHERY. 

Trepang or beche-de-mer fishery in the Pacific and Eastern Seas — Numerous 
varieties of Holothuria — Mode of preparing for market — Process of dry- 
ing — Statistics of exports from the Fiji Islands and Tahiti — Large imports 
into China. 

An important fishery for a food product, although one 
scarcely known at all in Europe, is the trepang fishery of 
the Pacific and Eastern Seas. 

The trepang, or beche-de-mer as it is sometimes called, 
is a most unsightly looking substance, a kind of sea-slug, 
belonging to the genus Holothuria. There are many 
varieties. The ordinary kind in point of size and appear- 
ance resembles a prickly cucumber, except that the colour 
is of a whitish brown ; another is perfectly black. Some- 
times they are found nearly two feet in length, but they are 
generally very much smaller, and perhaps about eight 
inches may be taken as the average size. 

There are 33 different varieties enumerated by the 
Chinese traders and others skilled in its classification, and 
it varies in price according to quality from 5^-. to \os. the 
pound. Fashion and custom have caused each variety to 
have a different market. While the gourmand of the 



io6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

south smacks his lips on the juicy white and black kinds, 
the less cultivated taste of those at the north is satisfied 
with the red and more inferior varieties. 

It is minced down into a sort of thick soup by the 
Chinese, who are extremely fond of it — and, indeed, with 
some reason, as when cooked by a Chinaman who under- 
stands the culinary art, the trepang is a capital dish, and 
is rather a favourite among many of the Europeans at 
Manila. 

This sea-slug, when dried, is an ugly looking, dirty-brown- 
coloured substance, very hard and rigid, until softened by 
water and a very lengthened process of cookery, after 
which it becomes soft and mucilaginous. It is found in all 
the sheltered harbours, where it gropes about the bottom, 
and feeds upon weeds and mollusca. It is taken at low 
water upon the shoals and mud-banks, over which the 
fishermen wade knee-deep in water, dragging their boats 
after them, and when the feet come in contact with a slug, 
it is picked up and thrown into the boat. They occasion- 
ally search in deeper water, where the fishermen avail 
themselves of the services of the natives, who are expert in 
diving and tracing out the slugs. 

The beche-de-mer, or trepang, is very abundant on the 
coasts of New Caledonia, and constitutes the most im- 
portant branch of commerce. The annual exports are 
valued at ^^4000. The fishery has been carried on for a 
long time on a neighbouring island, Erromango, which 
serves as an entrepot, where vessels load with this article 
and sandal-wood, v/hich they carry to Shanghai or Hong- 
kong. The merchants here, however, prefer to ship to 
Sydney, for which the trepang serves as a return cargo for 
the vessels which bring merchandise. 

Although there is such a great number of varieties of 



The Trepang Fishery, 107 



this sea-slug, only about five have any great commercial 
importance, which are as follows, with their nominal value 
in New Caledonia : — 







Per kilogramme. 




Per ton. 


Francs. 


I. Brown, with teats 






2. Lai-ge black 


25 


2-0 


3. Small black 


20 


1-30 


4. Red bellies 


15 


I'OO 


5. White 


12 


70 



The first quality sells in China often as high as £<^o to 
;^ioo the ton. The prices in the second column per 
kilogramme are those given in the French Colonial 
Catologue of the Paris Exhibition, 1878. 



Fig. I. 




Holothuridae species. 

The preparation of the product is very simple. It is 
boiled in water for about 20 minutes, and then slit up from 
one end to the other and dried. This process is carried on 
in a large shed, with three stages of frames disposed over a 
good fire to smoke and dry them. As the trepang is very 
hygrometic, it is indispensable that they should be kept dry- 



io8 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



ing until the moment of shipment, in order that they may not 
imbibe moisture, for then they become flaccid and decay.* 

The following detailed account by Captain Andrew 
Cheyne, who had had much experience in the fishery and 
preparation, was published some years ago in a volume of 
my " Technologist " : — 

There are many kinds of beche-de-mer found on coral 
reefs in the Pacific Ocean ; but only ten of these varieties 
are marketable in China, each being distinguished by well- 
known names. As they vary in price from 6 to 35 Spanish 
dollars per picul (133J lbs.), it becomes a matter of great 
importance to obtain the superior qualities. The slug 
when cured presents quite a different appearance to what it 
does when caught ; and no person but one well acquainted 
with the trade would be able to ascertain which were the 
first quality, by comparing the raw slug with a cured one. 
Again, the success of a voyage depends greatly on the 
knowledge possessed by the person in charge of the locali- 
ties in which the superior sorts are to be found, together 
with much experience in the mode of fishing and curing 
them. 

" The superior qualities are known by the following 
names in the Sooloo and Manila markets : — i. Bangko- 
lungan ; 2. Keeskeesan ; 3. Talepan ; 4. Munang ; each 
presenting a different appearance, and found in different 
depths of water on the reefs. 

" I. Bankolungan, when caught, is from 11 to 15 inches 
in length, of an oval shape, brown on the back, and the 
belly white and crusted with lime, with a row of teats on 
each side the belly. It is hard, rigid, and scarcely possesses 
any power of locomotion. It has, however, the power of 
expanding and contracting itself at pleasure. This quality 

* Revue Maritime et Coloniale." Paris, March, 1866. 



The Trepang Fishery, 



109 



is found on the inner edge of coral reefs, in from 2 to 10 
fathoms water, and on the bottom of coral and sand. It 
can only be procured by diving. 

"2. Keeskeesan is from 6 to 12 inches in length, of an 
oval shape, quite black, and smooth on the back, with a 
dark-greyish belly, and one row of teats on each side. 
When contracted, it is similar in shape to a land tortoise. 
This quality is found in shallow water, on the top of coral 
reefs, and on a bottom of coral and sand. Bangkolungan 
and Keeskeesan fetch about the same price ; and the latter 
being the most plentiful and easiest caught, ought of course 
to be the kind most sought after. 

" 3. Talepan varies in length from nine inches to two 
feet, and presents the most remarkable appearance of any 
of the species of beche-de-mer. It is found on all parts of 
the reefs, but chiefly in from two to three fathoms water. 
It is of a dark-red colour, and narrower in proportion than 
the before-mentioned kinds. The whole back is covered 
with large red prickles, which render it easily distinguish- 
able from any of the other kinds. It is much softer than 
the black, and more difficult to cure. 

"4. Munang is of a small size, seldom exceeding eight 
inches in length, of an oval shape, quite black, and smooth ; 
has no teats or other excrescences, and is found in shallow 
water on the coral flats, and often among turtle grass near 
the shore. This is the kind which the American vessels 
chiefly procure at the Fiji Islands. It is worth from 15 
to 25 dollars per picul in the China market. These four 
varieties form the superior qualities of the slug, and the 
following are the middling and inferior sorts : — 

" 5. Sapatos China is of a reddish-brown colour, and 
about the same size as the Munang. It presents a wrinkled 
surface, and is found adhering to the coral rocks on the 



no The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

top of the reefs. 6. Lowlowan is of various lengths, black, 
wrinkled, and narrow. It is found on various parts of the 
reefs. 7. Balati bianco is about nine inches in length, of an 
oval shape, and a white-and-orange colour ; and may be 
easily known by its voiding a white adhesive substance, 
which adheres to the fingers when handled. It is found 
generally on the inner edge of reefs, and on a sandy 
bottom. Moonlight nights are the best time for collecting 
this sort, as they generally bury themselves in the sand 
during the day. 8. Matan is of the same species and 
habits as No. 7, and only differs from it in colour, which is 
grey, brown, and white speckled. 9. Hangenan is gener- 
ally about a foot in length, of a grey or greenish colour, 
wrinkled, and is found on the lagoon side of coral reefs. 
10. Sapatos grande is about 12 or 15 inches in length, 
and of a brown-and-white colour, wrinkled, and very 
inferior. 

" The following remarks on boiling beche-de-mer are the 
result of a number of experiments made at different times. 
Bangkolungan and Keesgeesan will require to be boiled 
about five minutes or more, if the pot is nearly full ; they 
must be well stirred, and should be taken out when 
thoroughly heated through, by which time they will feel 
quite hard and elastic. The cut part of the fish, when 
properly boiled, should be of a blue-and-amber colour, and 
feel firm like india-rubber. If the pot is only half full, they 
will require to boil fully 10 minutes before the cut part 
becomes of the blue-and-amber colour. The Talepan and 
Munang require to be boiled fully 10 minutes. The 
Munang dries very quickly ; but the Talepan is very 
difficult to cure, and often requires two boilings before 
it will dry. The Sapatos China requires to be boiled about 
1 5 minutes ; if properly boiled it will dry very quickly. 



The Trepang Fishery. 



Ill 



The Balati Blanco and Matan need very little boiling, say 
three or four minutes if the pot is nearly full. They should 
be taken out as soon as they shrink and are thoroughly 
heated through. The Hangenan should be boiled about 
20 minutes. This sort must be very carefully handled 
when raw, as it will break in pieces if held any time in the 
hand. It appears to me that there are two ways of boiling 
beche-de-mer equally good. The first is to take them out 
when boiled about a minute, or as soon as they shrink and 
feel hard ; the other method is to boil them as before 
stated ; but in boiling either way, the slugs ought, if pro- 
perly cooked, to dry like a boiled egg immediately on 
being taken out of the pot. Beche-de-mer dried in the sun 
fetches a higher price than that dried over a wood fire. 
But this method would not answer in curing a ship's cargo, 
as they take fully 20 days to dry ; whereas by smoking 
them they are well cured in four days. 

" Much skill is required in drying beche-de-mer, as well 
as in boiling it, as too much heat will cause it to blister, 
and get porous, like sponge ; whereas, too little heat again 
will make it spoil, and get putrid within 24 hours after 
being boiled. There is, likewise, great care and method 
requisite in conducting the gutting ; for if this be not 
properly attended to, by keeping the fish in warm water, 
and from exposure to the sun, it will, when raw, soon 
subside into a blubbery mass, and become putrid in a few 
hours after being caught." 

The first thing to be done on arrival at an island where 
the slug is plentiful, is to erect a large curing-house on shore, 
about 90 feet in length, 30 feet in breadth, and the sides 
about 10 feet in height. These houses are generally built 
of island materials, and thatched with mats, made by the 
natives, of cocoa-nut leaves ; the thatch must be well put 



112 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

on, so as to prevent the rain from penetrating. The sides 
are likewise covered in with these mats, and a small door 
should be left in each end. Platforms, or batters, for drying 
the slug on, are then erected along one side of the house. 
They should run the whole length, and be about eight feet in 
breadth ; the lower one about breast-high from the ground, 
and the upper three feet above that. The frames are generally 
made of cocoa-nut trees, or pandanus, and covered with 
two or three layers of split bamboo, or reeds, seized close, 
so as to form a sort of network for the slugs to lay on. 
Much care and skill is required in the construction of these 
batters, or platforms, so as to prevent the beche-de-mer from 
burning, which it would be liable to, were they not properly 
fitted. A trench, about six feet in breadth and two feet 
in depth, is then dug the whole length of the batters for the 
fires. Tubs are placed at short distances along the side of 
the trench, filled with salt water, and a good supply of 
buckets kept in readiness, to prevent the fires from blazing 
up and burning the fish, or platforms, as well as to regulate 
the degree of heat necessary for drying the slug. 

The process of curing is this : — The beche-de-mer is 
first gutted, then boiled in large pots ; and, after being 
well washed in fresh water, carried into the curing-house, 
in small tubs, or baskets, and emptied on the lower batter, 
where it is spread out (about five inches thick) to dry. 
The trench is then filled with firewood, and when the batter 
is full of trepang, the fires are lighted, and the drying process 
commences. From this time the fires must be kept con- 
stantly going, day and night, with a careful officer and 
regular watch to attend to it. On the afternoon of the 
following day the fires are extinguished for a short time, 
and the slugs shifted to the upper batter, having been first 
examined, and splints of wood put into those which may 



The Trepa7tg Fishery. 



113 



not be drying properly. When this is done, the lower 
batter is again filled from the pots, the fires immediately 
lighted, and the drying process continued as before. The 
slugs on the lower batter must be turned frequently during 
the first 12 hours. On the second day (the fires having 
been extinguished as before) the slugs on the upper batter 
are shifted close over to one end, to make room for those on 
the lower batter again ; and so on, as before, for the two 
following days, by which time the first day's produce will be 
properly cured. It is then taken off the batter, and, after 
having been carefully examined, and those not dry put up 
again, the quantity cured is sent on board the vessel, and 
stowed aAvay in bags. But should the ship be long in 
procuring a cargo, it wdll require to be dried over again 
every three months, in the sun, on platforms erected over 
the deck, as it soon gets damp, unless when packed in air- 
tight casks. 

If the beche-de-mer is plentiful, and the natives bring 
it daily in large quantities, 40 men will be requisite to per- 
form the work of a house of the above size ; and the pots 
will w^ant two hands to attend them. These curing-houses 
consume a large quantity of firewood daily. When beche- 
de-mer is cured and stowed away, great care should be 
taken to prevent it from getting wet, as one damp slug will 
speedily spoil a w^hole bag. 

The beche-de-mer fisheries at the Fiji Islands have been 
extended of late years, particularly upon the Mattuata 
coast, situated upon the north side of Vanna Levu. The 
increase of value of export upon this head has been large, 
and, provided the exertions used to keep the petty chiefs 
from quarrelling are successful, will no doubt augment. 
The product is sold there at about 36^-. per picul. The 
prices fluctuate very much, being sometimes as high as 40^". 

I 



114 Commercial Products of the Sea. 



per picul and as low as 245-. during consecutive months. It 
is shipped to Sydney, and thence to China. 



The exports were in — 

Piculs. Value. 

1865 ... ... 500 ... ... £\200 

1866 ... ... 300 ... ... 600 

1867 ... ... 880 ... . 1600 



From Tahiti there were shipped, in 1874, 5346 lbs., 
valued at ;^58. 

The following are some of the names, classifications, 
and prices given to specimens shown in the British 
Museum, London, but the prices are old quotations : — 





Per picul. 


Peach blossom, or spiny ... 


... $30 


Middle clear bald 


20 


Great black 


... 40 


Black... 


... 30 


Largest bald Mashik, from Macassar 




Great white stone 


... 15 


Great clear bald, Leucoma 


... 40 


Great black stone, Macassar ... ' 


... 60 


Middle bald, from Leucoma, small 


10 


Small bald very small 


7 


Square spiny, Macassar ... 


10 


Largest rock, Leucoma . . , 


... 30 



Trepang is very abundant around Tahiti, Moua, and the 
Windward Islands. The ordinary price at Tahiti is about 
£aP per ton. A single house sometimes ships 1 50 tons to 
California, to be thence sent on to China. The imports of 
beche-de-mer into China in foreign vessels were stated to 
be as follows : — 

Piculs of 1 33 J lbs. 
1868 ... ... ... ... 18,407^ 

1869 15,579 

1870 ... • 15,447 

1871 11,338 

1872 17,953 

Taking one year, 1871, we find the following imports of 



The Trepmtg Fishery, 



115 



trepang were received at different ports in China in Chinese 
vessels : — 

Piculs. 

Chukiang ... ... ... ... 1008 

Swatow ... ... ... .. 404 

Kiukiang ... ... ... ... 144 

Takow ... ... ... ... 18 

Tamsui ... ... ... ... 34 

Ningpo ... ... ... ... I134 

2742 

And Shanghai and Foochow receive together about 6000 
to 7000 piculs. 

It is difficult to form an estimate as to the amount of 
trepang annually exported from the North Australian coast. 
From 30 to 40 prahus, varying from 20 to 70 tons burthen, 
are employed in the fishery, the crews amounting to about 
1200 men. They receive no wages, but are entitled to a 
certain portion of the profits of the voyage, the system 
being somewhat similar to that adopted in whale-ships. 
The provisions and stores required for the voyage are 
advanced by Chinese or Dutch merchants at Macassar, 
who thus acquire a right to the entire proceeds at a certain 
price which has previously been fixed upon, and which is 
invariably much below the current value. Taking the 
average amount of trepang obtained by each prahu at 20 
tons, this will give about 600 tons as the quantity annually 
exported from the coast. The value at Macassar is 70 rupees, 
or somewhat less than £j sterling, for the picul of 133 lbs. 
avoirdupois. The price to the consumer in China is en- 
hanced to the amount of about one-third. 



1 1 6 The Commercial Prodttds of the Sea. 



CHAPTER X. 

CEPHALOPODS, ETC., AS FOOD. 

Dried cuttle-fish as food — Consumption of octopods and polypi in the coun- 
tries bordering on the Mediterranean— Prices in Tunis — Mode of capture 
and preparation — Squid used for bait by the North American fishermen — 
Cuttle-fish bone and sepia — Large consumption of dried cuttle-fish in 
China — Species of Echinus eaten — Palolo viridis^ a kind of sea-worm, 
edible ; fishery for, in the Pacific. 

The flesh of the large cephalopodous animals was esteemed 
as a delicacy by the ancients. Most of the eastern natives, 
and those of the Polynesian Islands, partake of it and 
relish it as food. They are exposed for sale, dried, in the 
bazaars or markets throughout India, and in the Food 
Collection arranged at the East End Museum, Bethnal 
Green, dried cuttle-fish may be seen among the articles of 
Chinese, Japanese, and Siamese food. In Chili the flesh is 
also considered a delicacy, and in Barbados the bastard 
cuttle-fish or calmar {Loligo sagittata, Lam.) is used as an 
article of food by the lower classes. But from my small 
experience of this kind of diet, notwithstanding the asser- 
tion of the learned Bacon in his "Experiment Solitary 
touching Cuttle Ink," that the cuttle is accounted as a 
delicate meat, and is much in request, I should say that it 



Cephalopods, etc., as Food. 



117 



is as indigestible and innutritious as it is certainly tough 
and uninviting. 

Cephalopods are eaten at the present day on many 
parts of the Mediterranean coast. Mr. Vice-Consul Green, 
in a recent report, furnishes some novel and interesting 
particulars as to the fishing and trade in cephalopods in 
the Tunis waters. Octopodia and polypi are the trade 
names under which these cephalopods are known in the 
Levant and Greek markets, where they are solely im- 
ported for consumption during Lent, the orthodox Church 
not including them in the prohibition against the use of 
fish in seasons of religious abstinence. They prefer 
rocky shallows, and visit those waters, coming from the 
open sea, in the months of January, February, and 
March. A considerable number of octopodia, however, 
remain permanently near the shores ; but it has been 
observed that when their fry, locally called " muschi," are 
numerous from the month of June to August, the fishing 
of the coming season is sure to be abundant, whilst the 
reverse is the case if they appear in numbers in November 
and December. In a good season the several villages on 
the island of Karkenah supply about 3000 cwts., and the 
Jubah waters a third part of this quantity. In an average 
year the yield will be under 2000 cwts., and in one of 
scarcity 1000 cwts. On the shores from the village of 
Luesa to that of Chenies, in the Gulf of Khabs, the natives 
collect from four to five cwts. of cuttle-fish a day during 
the season ; but this supply generally serves for the con- 
sumption of the regency. The remaining coast and islands 
may be calculated to furnish a minimum of 650 to 700 cwts. 
of dried molluscs. 

The Tunisian Government claims a third of all the 
polypi fished upon its coast. The selling price varies con- 



1 1 8 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



siderably, according to the size, supply, and demand, but at 
Sfax a pair of them may cost, as circumstances rule, from 
6d. to \s. 2id. ; however, the preparatory maceration, by 
beating on a stone slab or rock, required before drying 
entails a small additional expense, and brings the extremes 
of low and high prices to 2^s. or 50^". per cwt. To the cost 
price must be added an export duty of 5^. id., and the 
purchaser ought to be careful to receive his merchandise 
from the seller during dry weather, as a damp day will 
add from four to five per cent, to the weight of every 
cwt. 

From two to three public sales of dried polypi take 
place in a season on the island of Karkenah ; these are 
regulated according to the abundance of the fish. The 
average price of the last six years has been — -during the 
first sale, from 45^-. to 50^". per cwt. ; second sale, 3 5^-. to 
45 ; third sale, 2^s. to 30^-. A few first parcels, in order 
to secure an early market, have, however, occasionally been 
sold for £^ the cwt. 

Polypi have hitherto been prepared for exportation by 
simply salting and drying them, but it is now proposed to 
carry out on a large scale an experiment, which appears to 
have proved successful, of preserving them either in oil or 
brine, after subjecting them to a preliminary scouring and 
boiling process. 

Malta receives the largest share of the Tunisian polypi, 
but they are only sent to that island for ultimate trans- 
mission to Greece and other parts of the Levant. Portugal 
is one of the few countries that competes with Tunis in 
supplying the Greek markets with polypi. In Greece they 
are either sold, after being pickled, at from £12 i6s. to 
£1^ 9^". the cantar of 176 lbs., or in their original dried 
state at from £12 to ^14, but these prices fluctuate ac- 



Cephalopods^ etc.^ as Food, 



119 



cording to the favourable or unfavourable results of the 
season's fishing. 

On the first arrival of the octopodia in the shallows 
they keep in masses or shoals, but speedily separate in 
search of shelter among the rocks near the beach, covered 
by only one or two feet of water, and in the stony 
localities prepared for them by the fishermen in order to 
frustrate the depositing of their spawn. Polypi are taken 
in deep water by means of earthen jars strung together 
and lowered to the bottom of the sea, where they are 
allowed to remain for a certain number of hours, and in 
which the animals introduce themselves. Frequently from 
8 to 10 polypi are taken from every jar at each visit of 
the fishermen. In less deep water earthenware drain-pipes 
are placed side by side, for distances frequently exceeding 
half a mile in length, and in these also they enter and are 
taken by the fishermen. As they are attracted by white 
and all smooth and bright substances, the natives deck 
places in the creeks and hollows in the rocks with white 
rocks and shells, over which the polypi spread themselves, 
and are caught from four up to eight at a time. But the 
most successful manner of securing them is pursued by 
the inhabitants of Karkenah, who form long lanes and 
labyrinths in the shallows by planting the butt-ends of 
palm branches at short distances from each other, and these 
constructions extend over spaces of two or more miles. 
On the ebb of the tide (the fall is here about 10 feet) the 
octopodia are found in the pools inside the enclosures, and 
are easily collected by the fishermen, who string them in 
bunches of 50 each, and from 8 to 10 of these bunches, 
called " risina," are secured daily during the season by 
every boat's crew of four men. 

The squids form an important element in the North 



I20 The Comme7xial Products of the Sea. 

American fisheries. The common Loligo is the favourite 
food of the cod, and is therefore itself fished for bait. 
One-half of all the cod taken on the banks of New- 
foundland are said to be caught by it. When the vast 
shoals of this mollusc approach the coast, hundreds of 
vessels are ready to capture them, formxing an extensive 
cuttle-fishery, engaging 500 sail of French, English, and 
American ships. During violent gales of wind, hundreds 
of tons of them are often thrown up together in beds on 
the flat beaches, the decay of which spreads an intolerable 
effluvium around. They must themselves be consumed in 
enormous numbers, for it has been estimated that a single 
squid will lay in one season 40,000 eggs. 

The cuttle-fish are frequently left stranded on the 
beaches, and are also caught by fishermen, who obtain two 
valuable products from them — the so-called calcareous 
bone (which is much used by chemists, when pulverized and 
tinted, and sold as coral tooth-powder), and the ink-bag, 
which forms the sepia colour of artists. On the coasts of 
Brittany and La Vendee, the flesh of this polypus is eaten 
and appreciated, but on many other coasts it is disdained. 
Much depends, however, on its culinary preparation, which 
is somewhat difficult. 

Dried cuttle-fish form a large article of export from 
Japan to China. They are called susume, and are brought 
chiefly from Esasi, Matsmai, and the west coast of Yesso, 
Fugaro, and Yetzidzen, generally during February and 
October, and the prices paid vary from 14 to \6\ dollars. 
Small quantities brought to Hakodate from Sado Island, 
situated near the west coast of Niphon, are said to be of 
very good quality. 

To show the extent of the Chinese trade, it may be 
stated that in the quarter ending June, 1872, the imports 
into three of the Chinese ports were as follows : — 



Cephalopods^ etc., as Food. 



121 



Picals. 



Kiukiang 
Shanghai 
Ningpo 



869 
1564 
1745 



4198 



— equal to 5222 cwt. 

What is commonly termed cuttle-fish bone is frequently 
found floating in the Mediterranean Sea, and in much 
greater quantity on the shores of Australia. It is of an 
oblong oval shape, from 3 to 10 inches long, and its breadth 
is about one-third of its length ; hard upon its upper surface 
and edges, but soft on its lower side, both surfaces being 
convex. Its specific gravity is about '935. Its composition, 
though calcareous, is quite different from bone, being about 
83 per cent, of carbonate of calcium, with some magnesia 
and common salt, and but little animal matter. The 
structure is quite peculiar ; a fresh fracture, when examined, 
shows the layers of the calcium salt, supported by pillars 
of the same material, arranged in regular rows, likened by 
Wood the naturalist to an imitation Giant's Causeway. It 
furnishes cage-birds with tiny grindstones, whereon to whet 
their bills, and levigated and dried it forms the basis of 
some dentrifices. 

When the ovaries of some of the species of sea-eggs 
or sea-urchins are fully developed — the Echinus edulis, for 
instance — they are collected as food. The late Sir Robert 
Schomburgk, in his " History of Barbados," mentions that 
they are eaten there. 

The Echinus albus is eaten by the Chilians and others. 
It is of a globular form, and about three inches in diameter ; 
the shell and spines are white, but the interior substance is 
yellowish and of an excellent taste. 

Palolo. — Another curious food product obtained in the 
Pacific, which is esteemed as highly as whitebait in Eng- 



12 2 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



land, is the Palolo viridis, Gray, a small species of sea- 
worm, a genus of annelides. The Rev. J. B. Starr, of the 
London Missionary Society, has given the best description 
of it, as follows : — 

Fig. 2. 




I. Palolo viridis, natural size. 2. Portion of body, slightly magnified. 3. 
Magnified figure of head. 4. Ditto of posterior extremity. (Gray.) 

"The palolo is the native name for a species of sea- 
worm which is found in some parts of Samoa (the Navi- 
gator Islands) in the South Pacific Ocean. They come 
regularly in the months of October and November, during 
portions of two days in each month, viz., the day before 



Cephalopods, etc., as Food. 



123 



and the day on which the moon is in her last quarter. 
They appear in much greater numbers on the second than 
on the first day of their rising, and are only observed for 
two or three hours in the early part of each morning of 
their appearance. At the first dawn of day they may be 
felt by the hand swimming on the surface of the water ; 
and as the day advances their numbers increase, so that by 
the time the sun has risen, thousands may be observed in a " 
very small space, sporting merrily during their short visit 
to the surface of the ocean. On the second day they 
appear at the same time and in a similar manner, but in 
such countless myriads that the surface of the ocean is 
covered with them for a considerable extent. On each 
day, after sporting for an hour or two, they disappear until 
the next season, and not one is ever observed during the 
intervening time. Sometimes, when plentiful at one 
island in one month, scarcely any are observed the next ; 
but they always appear with great regularity at the times 
mentioned, and these are the only times at which they are 
observed throughout the whole year. They are found only 
in certain parts of the islands, generally near the openings 
of the reefs on portions of the coast on which much fresh 
water is found ; but this is not always the case. 

" In size they may be compared to a very fine straw, 
and are of various colours and lengths, green, brown, white, 
and speckled, and in appearance and mode of swimming 
resemble very small snakes. They are exceedingly brittle, 
and if broken into many pieces, each swims off as though 
it were an entire worm. No particular direction appeared 
to be taken by them in swimming. I observed carefully to 
see whether they came from seaweed or rose from the reef, 
and feel assured they come from the latter place. The 
natives are exceedingly fond of them, and calculate with 



124 '^^^^ Commaxial Products of the Sea. 

great exactness the time of their appearance, which is 
looked fonvard to with great interest. The worms are 
caught in small baskets, beautifully made, and when taken 
on shore are tied up in leaves in small bundles, and 
baked. Great quantities are eaten undressed, but either 
dressed or undressed they are esteemed a great delicacy. 
Such is the desire to eat ^ palolo ' by all classes, that im- 
mediately the fishing parties reach the shore, messengers 
are despatched in all directions with large quantities to 
parts of the island on which none appear." 

The great antiquity of the name for this worm amongst 
the South Sea Islanders (Balolo and Paloloj is attested by 
the fact that the parts of the year most nearly corre- 
sponding with our m.onths of October and November, are 
respectively named " Vula i Balolo lailai " (little), and 
" Vula i Balolo leva" (large;; the latter, as its name im- 
plies, is distinguished by the appearance of the " balolo " in 
such vast numbers that it is collected by the natives as a 
dainty article of food, and is so much prized that formal 
presents of it are frequently sent considerable distances 
into the interior, from certain chiefs resident on the coast, 
to others whose dominions do not happen to be favoured 
by the annual visit of the balolo." 

Dr. Seemann, in his " Mission to Viti,'' gives us the 
following extract of a letter from a lady in Fiji to her 
friends in England : — " In November we all went for a 
few days to Wakaya, about lo miles east-north-east from 
Ovalau, in order to see the balolos, which rise out of the 
reefs just before daylight, at first in small numbers, but 
about sunrise in such masses that the sea looks more solid 
than liquid. As they were to appear on the morning of 
the 25th, we retired to rest at an early hour the night 
before, and rose with the moon about one o'clock in the 



Cephalopods, etc., as Food. 



125 



morning. An hour's pull in the whaleboat brought us to 
the very spot to which they were to come. We found 
several natives already collected there in boats and canoes, 
all anxiously looking out who should get the first ' balolo.' 
This they discovered by sitting with their hands in the 
water as the canoe was gently paddled about. Presently 
there was great shouting — nets were put out, and the 
excitement commenced. At first our nets did very well ; 
but soon the balolos became too numerous for them to be 
of any use, and they were caught by the hands and thrown 
into the baskets with which the boats were filled. We 
placed a white handkerchief four inches below the surface 
of the water, but the little creatures were so thick above it 
that it was quite invisible. At first I could not make up 
my mind to touch them, but seeing ever>^ one else doing 
so, I summoned up all my courage, plunged in my hands, 
and grasped a goodish number, of which however I got rid 
as quickly as possible. The little slimy things twist round 
the hand in half a second. They are of course perfectly 
harmless, swim very fast, and the longer ones have some- 
times five or six coils in the body. When at the thickest, 
they are all entangled one in another, presenting a \^ry 
curious appearance, as they are of various shades of green, 
brown, and white. As the sun gains power, they disappear, 
and about eight or nine o'clock you can scarcely find one. 
It is always in November they come in such masses, just 
after the last quarter of the moon, and they rise with the 
tide. As soon as the natives have gathered all they can, 
they make fires and ovens to cook them. Small quantities 
of ' balolo ' are tied up in bread-fruit leaves, and have to lie 
in the oven from 12 to 18 hours. When all is cooked, the 
natives expect a heavy shower of rain, as they say to put 



126 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

out the fires of their ovens. Should there be no rain, a bad 
yam season is expected." 

Many of the European residents in the Fijis eat the 
"balolo," and look on it as quite a periodical relish. It 
also makes its appearance in the New Hebrides, in Tonga, 
and in the Samoan or Navigator Islands identically with 
its advent in Fiji. 



( ) 



CHAPTER XL 

MISCELLANEOUS FISHERIES. 

The capelin fishery of Newfoundland — Chiefly used as bait for cod — Some 
shipped pickled and dried — The halibut fishery on the American coast — 
The sword-fish eaten as food — Fishing for turbots, soles, and other flat fish 
— Quantity sold annually in Billingsgate — Fish in India, 

The Capelin Fishery. — The capelin {Mallotus arcticus ; 
M. villosus, Cuv.) is peculiar to Newfoundland and Labrador. 
It is a very delicate fish, resembling a smelt. Its visits 
are during August and September, for the purpose of 
spawning on beaches. At times they are so numerous as 
to darken the sea for miles, while the cod feed on them 
with the utmost voracity. We only know them in Europe 
in the dried state, some quantity being imported from 
Newfoundland. 

As an article of bait for cod and other fish of that 
class, the capelin is of much importance ; whenever 
abundant, the cod fishing is excellent. Like the common 
smelt, it possesses the cucumber smell, but differs from the 
smelt in never entering fresh- water streams. 

This delicious fish is now only locally sought for bait 
and manure, but a very small quantity are cured. This may 
hereafter become a great source of wealth, when we con- 



128 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

sider how large a trade is carried on in sardines and 
anchovies. If they were merely pickled and dried, a 
simple operation which could be performed by children, 
they would be worth at least 4^". a barrel ; and 1,000,000 
barrels would find a market if introduced into fish-eating 
countries, and not sensibly lessen the quantity which every 
summer swarms in every bay and creek of the island of 
Newfoundland and the Labrador coast. 

The Halibut ( Hippoglossiis vulgaris, Cuv.). — The halibut 
abounds in the waters of the Atlantic coast from New- 
foundland to Cape Hatteras. From some ports of Nova 
Scotia a considerable trade in halibut is carried on with 
the United States. On parts of the coast the fish is so 
abundant, and of such large size, that the localities are 
avoided by those engaged in cod fishing, as a boat or small 
vessel becomes soon heavily laden. This fish sometimes 
attains the weight of 400 to 500 lbs. The flesh is some- 
what coarse and dry, but is much esteemed by many. It 
is lightly salted and smoked. The fins and flaps are 
delicacies, if the fish is in good condition. The halibut is 
also cut into slices and pickled in barrels, in which state it 
sells at half the price of the best herrings. 

The fishing for the halibut is very important, and 5000 
to 6000 barrels are taken in the British Provinces by 
Americans, few of the native settlers embarking in it. 
The fish is somewhat diff"erent from the European fish of 
the same name. 

Sword-fish. — The flesh of the Tetrapturus Australisis an 
excellent article of food, much resembling that of the true 
sword-fish or "pesce spada" {Xiphias gladius) of the Mediter- 
ranean. Its flesh is much esteemed there as an article of 
food. The sword-fish is common in the Bosphorus, and 
measures 10 to 12 feet, and of proportionate girth. The 



r 

Miscellaneous Fisheries. 129 

flesh, which is of a dull red colour, is very palatable, and a 
sword-fish steak makes an excellent substitute for a salmon 
cutlet. A sword-fish was shown at Boston, U.S., some 
years ago, which weighed over 1000 lbs., and measured, 
including the sword, 14 feet. 

The fishermen of Sables d'Olonne, France, dry and 
salt the flesh of Squalus caniadata, and of another species, 
the dog-fish (5. galeus), for winter use. 

Turbot, Soles, etc. — The British trawl vessels catch their 
fish on the vast submarine plateau extending from Flam- 
borough Head to the south of Orfordness on the English 
coast, and from the Long Fisher Bank, north of Heligo- 
land, to Ter Schelling, on the Dutch coast. 

Soles fourteen years ago cost 2d. to 2\d. per lb. ; now they 
are worth Zd. to \s. 2d. per lb. Large soles are difficult to 
get at all. Small soles go by the name of " tongues ; " the 
smallest are " cat's tongues." " Slips " are 9 J to 10 inches 
in length. A fair-sized sole would be about 12 inches. 
The legal sizes for the sale of fish in France limit soles and 
turbot to four inches. 

Sole fishing is a trade carried on most extensively at 
various parts of the English coast, but more particularly at 
the Great Silver Pitts, situated betwixt the Dogger and 
Wellbank, east from the Humber river. Sole fishing is con- 
ducted upon exactly the same principle as oyster dredging. 
The vessel sails easily along at the rate of about two knots 
per hour, pulling the dredge after her ; and as the travvder's 
dredge or net is fitted with inside pockets, when once the 
fish are fairly entered into the net, they cannot again easily 
get out. The depths and bottom about the middle of the 
Firth of Forth are similar to those about the Great Silver 
Pitts, and as soles are frequently caught by fishermen on 
their lines, the supposition is that were dredges used in 

K 



1 30 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

25 and 30 fathoms' water in the Firth, soles might also be 
found there lying in clusters. 

On that part of the northern coast of Ireland connected 
with Lough Foyle, turbot fishing is carried on from March 
to November, Turbot average to the fishermen 3^. to 4^-. 
per dozen, and there are about 12 dozen of turbot sent 
weekly from Moville to Liverpool and Glasgow. A con- 
siderable quantity of soles and plaice is also shipped from 
the trawlers. 

One hundred millions (or about 12,000 tons in weight) 
of soles are said to be sold annually in Billingsgate. 

Nearly every fish that swims, either in salt or fresh 
water, is greedily eaten by the natives in India. Sharks 
especially are much valued, and said to be very pala- 
table and nutritious. The fishery for these is described in 
another chapter. In the bazaars of Madras it would be 
possible to obtain some. 200 or 300 kinds of dried fish, 
including different preparations of the same species. In 
curing fish, salt, owing to its high price, is used as sparingly 
as possible, and hence, as a rule, the dried fish of the 
bazaar has anything but a pleasant odour. In some quar- 
ters saline earth is used instead of salt, as being cheaper ; 
but fish cured in this manner is said to have an unpleasant 
flavour, and to be apt, when continuously used, to bring on 
itch. The fish most in repute for European tables in 
Madras are the seer {Cybium Coimnersonii), the pomfrets 
{StromateiLs niger and ^S. argenteits), and mullets. The seer 
is sold in cutlets, like salmon in Europe, and is in some 
respects perhaps superior to salmon, more especially as 
regards digestibility. 



( 131 ) 



CHAPTER XII. 

OYSTERS AND OTHER EDIBLE MOLLUSCA. 

Britain long celebrated for oysters — Large consumption and great value of 
those consumed in England— Continually advancing prices — The Jersey 
fishery — The French oyster fishery — Oyster consumption in Paris — Ostrei- 
culture on the French coast — American oyster fishery — The New York 
trade — Oysters in Australia — Clams and other edible molluscs. 

The geographical distribution of the oyster is extensive. 
Large quantities are found on the American coasts and at 
the' Antipodes. On the coast of Africa it is also plentifully 
sprinkled. 

In antiquity Britain was so celebrated for oysters, that 
they were sent to Rome ; a fact attested by more than one 
of the Roman poets. The epicures of that city had their 
layers or stews for oysters, as we have at present in the 
open sea. According to Pliny, the oyster reservoirs were 
first made by Sergius Grata, not for the gratification of his 
own palate, but as a most lucrative speculation by which he 
realized large profits. The ancients ate oysters as we do, 
either raw or roasted ; but they had also a way of stewing 
them with mallows and docks, and sometimes with fish. 
There is a curious account of the treatment of oysters in 
Sprat s " History of the Royal Society," an abstract of 



132 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



which may be found in Pennant's " British Zoology." 
About 1776, the oysters of Colchester and Rochester were 
the most famous ; and a great part of the inhabitants of the 
latter place were concerned in or supported by this fishery, 
which was conducted by a company of free dredgers, 
established by prescription, but subject to the Corporation. 

It is from September to April that oysters are in most 
request, and during this interval it is computed there are 



Fig. 3. 




Oysters. 



800,000,000 of oysters consumed in London alone, and 
quite as many, if not more, in the provinces. We pay 
between ;^4,ooo,ooo and ^^5,000,000 a year for oysters, and 
there is no doubt double the quantity would find ready 
consumption if they were obtainable at a reasonable price. 
During the last ten years the price of " natives " has in- 
creased from two guineas to ten guineas a bushel. 



Oysters and other Edible Mollusca. 133 



The English native oyster of the coasts of Kent and 
Essex is distinguished from all others: — i. By its peculiar 
flavour and delicacy. 2. By the colour of its lobes and 
mantle, which are of a clear green hue, due to the marine 
plants on which it feeds. 3. By its thin and translucid 
shell of a brilliant pearly interior, unlike the common 
oyster which has a large calcareous centre, indicating an 
inferior quality. 

The English native oyster contains iron and alkaline 
iodides, which renders this mollusc sweet and wholesome, 
and nourishing food. 

Now that the genuine Whitstable oyster fetches 3^. 6d. 
the dozen, and is likely to cost 4^"., if not more, soon — 
with oysters, in a word, at threepence halfpenny each, and 
threatening to rise to fourpence—anything that affects, or 
tends to affect, the price of this delicious bivalve cannot but 
be matter of almost universal interest. It is certainly cause 
for great regret that the supply of the best kind of oysters 
should have fallen so short as it has done of late years. 
The oyster is not a luxury which only very rich people can 
expect to command, but it ought to be within the reach of 
all persons of moderate means. It is essentially the most 
popular, as well as palatable, of delicacies. It is not many 
years since the best " natives " from Whitstable and Col- 
chester were only sixpence a dozen in a West-End estab- 
lishment, and " seconds " but two-thirds of that sum ; and 
then the City clerk, emerging hungry from the theatre, 
could appease his appetite with oysters and draught stout, 
secure from any suspicion of undue extravagance. Those 
golden days unfortunately have fled, and, unless active and 
practical steps be taken to replenish our oyster beds, they 
can never be expected to return. 

The oyster is not, strictly speaking, a mollusc of the sea. 



134 Commercial Products of the Sea. 

It can only live and breed in certain shallow estuaries, and 
even in these it only thrives within particular limits. If we 
overfish our estuaries we depopulate them, and we have 
systematically over-dredged our oyster beds. Thus we are 
now reaping the inevitable result of extravagance and 
waste. We must cultivate the oyster, or else rest content 
to see it become still scarcer, or even extinct. No third 
course is possible. Oyster culture in England is still in its 
infancy, but it is satisfactory to know that steps are being 
taken to improve our knowledge of the subject. 

The oyster fishing of Arklow, on the east coast of 
Ireland, is a large and constant source of employment to 
the fishermen. The oysters are carried in boats to Beau- 
maris, in Anglesey, where they are laid on banks and raised 
when required for the Liverpool market. 

Oysters continue to be scarce and dear in England. 
In former years some hundreds of boats might be seen in 
Goree harbour, Jersey, engaged in the fishery ; now, scarcely 
a dozen boats can pay their way by dredging. The fishing 
is most active from February to May. 

During the spring of 1850 the number of Jersey boats 
employed in the fishery was 70, manned by 350 men; of 
English boats, 119, manned by 623 men — a total of 189 
boats, 4018 tons, 983 men. The quantity of oysters 
caught was 105,000 tubs, which fetched 3^. a tub — or 

5,300! In the autumn of the same year there were 
40 Jersey boats, manned by 200 men ; 40 English boats, 
220 men. These 80 boats caught 19,200 tubs, which sold 
at 2s. 6d. per tub, or ;^2400 ; the total produce of the 
oysters dredged in the spring and autumn of 1850 being 
thus ^17,700. 

In Falmouth harbour there are from 200 to 300 boats 
employed in the oyster fishery. The price has risen from 
2s. to i2>s. per bushel. 



Oysters and other Edible Mollusca. 135 



The conventional ring-gauge of oysters is two and a 
half inches in diameter, and this, it is thought, might be 
reduced to two inches. 

Some 36,000 bushels of oysters have been taken to the 
coast of Kent to lay down in beds for the London market, 
and large quantities are bought by French and other 
merchants, the French giving the highest price. 

The French Oyster Fishery. — To show the importance 
of the French oyster fishery, it may be stated that more than 
30 years ago the value of the oysters taken at the two ports 
of Granville and Cancale realized ^22,000. At Granville 
105 boats, employing 760 men, took 18,750,000 oysters, 
and at Cancale 187 boats, with 1083 men, took only 
8,000,000 oysters. The Granville oysters then sold at 19 
francs 62 cents the 1000; Cancale oysters at 21 francs. 

In a report submitted to the Emperor Napoleon by 
M. Coste, he showed that the production of oysters on the 
plan recommended by him had taken such a prodigious 
development, that in the He de Re alone more than 3000 
men, who had come from the interior, had established 1500 
parks, which produced annually about 371,000,000 oysters, 
of the value of from 6,000,000 francs to 8,000,000 francs. 

To show the consumption of Paris, and the great in- 
crease of price, the following figures may be given : — 



Consumption. Price per loo. 

Francs. 

1804 ... 17,200,000 ... ... — 

1846 ... 47,400,000 ... ... 338 

1852 ... 77,900,000 ... ... 2-27 

1858 ... 57,600,000 ... ... 3-58 

1868 ... 26,500,000 ... ... 7 '20 



The price has since advanced to over 12 francs the 100, and 
the effect has been to stimulate the development of ostrei- 
culture. 



136 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



The value of the oysters sold in France in 1872 was 
20,000, and in 1873, ;^6oo,ooo. The ports of Granville, 
Cancale, and L'Orient produced nearly 13,000,000 oysters, 
about 4,500,000 more than in the previous year. Ostrei- 
culture, thanks to the care and wise regulations of the Gov- 
ernment, is making rapid progress, both to the benefit of 
the fishermen and the public. In the quarter of La Teste, 
where this industry is extensively carried on, 42,342,250 
oysters were obtained, being 17,000,000 more than in the 
previous year. 

As there is nothing new under the sun, it would appear 
that artificial oyster-culture is no exception, for in the days 
of the Stuarts many Star Chamber edicts were issued pro- 
hibiting the " exportation beyond the seas " of " oyster 
faggots," i.e., fascines with young oysters attached ; and at 
another time, in those halcyon days when Whitstable 
oysters rose from 2>d. to 6s. the bushel, " water measure," 
their exportation was prohibited, subject to dire pains and 
penalties. It is strange that the French should learn 
oyster culture from us, and that we should be beholden to 
them for what we know about the artificial reproduction of 
the oyster, notwithstanding the fact that we abound in 
aquaria paying remunerative dividends. 

The French have been more zealous and energetic in 
oyster culture than we have. At Arcachon, in the centre 
of a basin exposed only during low water, is a bank called 
Lahellon, of a surface of about 100 acres, forming the 
model oyster ground, which is only above water for 25 
minutes at every low tide. The oyster bed proper covers 
only 10 acres, to which, however, have been added, as 
annexations and depots, about 60 acres of neighbouring 
banks. On this small space, where the first oysters were 
planted in i860, the enormous oyster population has been 



Oysters and other Edible Mollusca. 137 

generated which now covers it, and at some future day will 
be a source of great wealth. 

The first deposit made consisted of 500,000 oysters, 
and near them 10,000 large hollow earthen tubes were 
so placed and piled up as to afford a desirable stopping- 
place for the young vagabond oysters, the birth of which 
was expected. Notwithstanding partial failures, unavoid- 
able in all such totally new enterprises, the park of 
Lahellon, with its appendages, was estimated to have pro- 
duced, in 1868, 50,000,000 oysters, which is much more 
than the rest of the bay contained in its 40,000 acres' 
surface. 

It is reckoned that the net increase of the receipts from 
oysters alone in France is rather over ;^300,ooo a year. All 
down the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from Brest to the 
Gironde, the shores are studded with artificial beds belong- 
ging to private individuals, but regularly and rigidly in- 
spected by Government. The population of the islands of 
Re and Oleron in particular are entirely supported by the 
oyster beds. 

Auray in Brittany is, next to Arcachon, the seat of the 
most important of all French oyster fisheries. There is 
one establishment in the Auray district — that of M. d'Argy, 
at Le Breneguy, near Locmariaquer— which comprises 
about 100 acres in a single enclosure, private property, 
and about 12 hectares outside, in addition, between the 
enclosure and the sea. The 100 acres now forming this 
great oyster-pond were in 1864 part of a farm belonging to 
M. d'Argy, and divided in the usual way into fields. In 
that year the sea broke in, and submerged it, causing, as it 
was thought at the time, great destruction of property. 
The proprietor, however, eventually determined some time 
ago to form it into an oyster-tank, and, by means of sub- 



138 The Co7nmercial Products of the Sea. 



stantial embankments erected at great cost, has succeeded 
most completely in doing so. In 1876 M. d'Argy laid down 
6,000,000 oysters, 3,500,000 being of the five-centimetre 
size. These have grown well, and the large ones were also 
in good condition ; indeed, so satisfactory have been his 
efforts that he has been enabled to contract for the present 
supply of 1,000,000 marketable oysters to London and the 
same to Paris, while the quantity despatched to each place 
will shortly be increased to 2,000,000. 

The official value of the produce of the principal oyster 
fisheries in France in 1873 was given as follows : — 



Quarters. 


Francs. 


Sables d'Olonne ... 


60,200 


Noimontiers 


79,876 


De Vannes 


98,590 


D'Auray ... 


... 274,849 


L' Orient ... 


35,000 


Paimpol ... 


105,800 


Cancale ... 


... 595,020 


Granville ... 


61,595 


La Hougue 


183,085 


Caen 


96,786 


Havre 


121,800 


Calais 


..i 28,932 


Teste 


1,736,032 



The dredging in the ports of Granville, Cancale, and 
L'Orient produced in 1873 12,805,000 oysters, against 
4,586,000 oysters in the previous year. In 1874 the pro- 
duce at Cancale was 13,454,000 oysters. 

The follov/ing official statement, lately published, gives 
the statistics of the commerce in oysters in France for the 
seasons ist September to 30th April : — 

Price per looo. 

Oysters taken from the beds. Value in francs. Francs. 

1874 ... 104,731,350 ... 7,727,000 ... 7378 

1875 ... 227,640,212 ... 11,247,416 ... 49*40 

1876 ... 335,774,070 ... 13,226,296 ... 39-39 



Oysters and other Edible Mollusca. 139 

The basin of Arcachon and the other maritime rivers 
of that coast are those where the artificial culture of oysters 
has been most attended to. In the season ending April, 
1877, 202,392,225 oysters, valued at 4,500,000 francs, were 
delivered to commerce from Arcachon. The D'Auray 
quarter collected and delivered 101,736,000 oysters, valued 
at 500,000 francs, during the same period. 

The American Oyster Fishery. — The trade in oysters in 
the United States is very large. The Baltimore oyster 
beds in the Chesapeake river and its tributaries cover 
3000 acres, and produce an annual crop of about 25,000,000 
bushels. 

The oyster trade of New York is one using large 
amounts of capital, employing nearly 1 50 sailing vessels, 
with crews averaging in the aggregate 700 seamen, and 
handling millions of bushels of oysters per annum. There 
are moored at the wharfs in New York city nearly 60 
barges, or " lay-boats " as they are called, costing from ;^6oo 
to £1000 each, substantially built, having compartments 
capable of containing thousands of bushels of oysters in the 
shell. 

The oyster season commences about the ist of October 
(when the boats owned by the dealers are sent to the beds 
for cargoes), and lasts until the middle of March or ist 
of April. The oyster fleet is composed principally of 
schooners, ranging from 35 tons to 250 tons, and receives 
the proceeds of the dredgings of the beds at York River, 
Prince's Bay, Keyport, City Island, Cow Bay, Rockaway, 
Oyster Bay, Glen Cove, Blue Point, Norwalk, Stamford, 
and Greenwich. When the oysters are received, they are 
discharged directly on the wharf to dealers ; and after 
these are supplied, the balance is stored in the compart- 
ments of the lay-boats. From the lay-boats the oysters are 



140 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

shipped to other cities at the north and west. For ship- 
ment, they are packed in barrels in the shells, or opened 
and packed in tubs with ice, and forwarded by rail to 
Boston, Providence, Portland, Chicago, Omaha, San Fran- 
cisco, and other cities. Very few oysters are canned in New 
York. That trade seems to be principally monopolized by 
Baltimore. Besides the oyster shipping interests, there is 
the important retail trade in the city. The well-fitted and 
at times luxurious offices on the lay-boats are the meeting- 
rooms of the proprietors of the hotels, restaurants, retail 
oyster saloons, and cheap oyster stands. At certain hours 
in the day, representatives of each of these branches of the 
trade may meet in the office, and the rapidity with which 
a cargo of oysters — extras, box, cuUens — is disposed of 
astonishes a novice. One man requires only the largest 
oysters in the lot. Another wants to know if the dealer 
hasn't got a lot of small oysters for cheap stews. A third 
requires tip-top box oysters, and another asks when the 
next cargo of York Rivers or Rockaways is expected. 

Most of the dealers own the beds from which they 
receive the oysters, but are compelled to have partners to 
superintend the catching and loading, because most of the 
beds — in fact, all except those bordering on Long Island — 
are out of the State. The laws of the other States — Con- 
necticut, New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia — do not 
permit non-residents to own beds or catch oysters within 
their domains. So the New York dealers, at least some 
of them, form co-partnerships with residents near the 
fishing grounds, supply them with money, let them buy 
beds and plant the oysters, take them in as part owners 
of the vessel in the carrying trade, and then divide the 
profits. 

The New York trade is controlled in a great measure 



Oysters and other Edible Molhtsca. 141 

by the weather. If the nights are clear and cold, the side- 
walks dry, and the stars out, the consumers throng the 
retail saloons, and the result is an assemblage of all sorts 
of vehicles in the morning at the lay-boat stations for new 
supplies. If the country roads are in prime order, and the 
fast horses of the well-to-do farmers or bloods can make 
good time to the village, carrying the girls on supper ex- 
cursions, the demand for new supplies by rail is increased. 
But when the barometer falls to 29°, the stars go out 
of sight, the roads are muddy and the sidewalks damp, 
the demand falls off. Singularly, however, the prices do 
not fluctuate. The wholesale prices change to so trifling 
an extent that the consumer never receives the benefit ; if 
any one profits by a fall, it is the retailer. 

The oyster trade is one requiring peculiar and delicate 
perception. Yet the expert who catches the oyster in his 
left hand, taps it with the butt-end of the knife to make 
it insensible, and shatters its stony lips to take its life, 
knows as soon as he lifts it from the pile where it came 
from, how old it is, whether it is a Delaware, Prince's Bay, 
City Islander, or has grown under the dashing waves of 
Rockaway. He knows, too, whether it will open good. 
The wholesale dealers at New York have over ^600,000 
invested in the oyster trade, and receive on an average 
2,500,000 bushels per annum. During the warm season, 
the oysters are sent by rail in refrigerator cars, a recent 
railway improvement. 

On some single days, over 100,000 bushels of oysters 
have been taken from the Chesapeake Bay, which is the 
greatest oyster bed in the world, and is said to be inex- 
haustible. 

Two hundred and fifty boats are engaged in oyster 
dredging from Baltimore, which bring in about 900 bushels 



142 The Com77tercial P 7^0 ducts of the Sea. 



to the cargo ; and as they make in the aggregate 6000 
trips during the eight months of the season, this gives a 
total of nearly 5,000,000 bushels of oysters, worth about 
5 00,000. 

The Newhaven banks have a very high reputation, 
and this place ranks next to Boston in importance in the 
oyster trade. Fair Haven is the great oyster mart of New 
England. Only a very small proportion of the oysters 
here are natives. They are fully equal in quality to those 
imported, but cannot be raised in sufficient quantities to 
supply more than one-tenth of the trade. Of the 4,000,000 
bushels imported, about 1,600,000 are brought in the spring 
and " planted," while 2,400,000 are imported in the fall and 
winter, and consumed immediately, some of the largest 
dealers using as many as 1 50,000 bushels yearly. 

It is estimated that 4,000,000 bushels of oysters are 
annually carried from the Virginia waters to Fair Haven ; 
4,000,000 to New York ; 2,000,000 to Boston ; 2,000,000 to 
Philadelphia ; 2,000,000 to Baltimore ; 3,000,000 to Provi- 
dence, etc. ; in all, more than a score of millions. 

The celebrated Chesapeake Bay oysters of America are 
now regularly received in Europe, and are to be found in 
the markets of London and Paris. There are several 
varieties of American oysters, differing mainly in size, ac- 
cording to the districts from which they come. Between the 
best and the commonest there is hardly a difference of 25 
per cent. There is the " Morris Cove " oyster, which comes 
from New Jersey, and is the kind almost exclusively used 
in New York and the neighbouring districts ; the " Saddle 
Rocks," a particularly fat variety ; the " Norwalks," from 
Connecticut ; and other varieties from the coasts of Vir- 
ginia and Maryland. 

The city of Boston plays the same part in supplying 



Oysters and other Edible Mollusca, 143 



the Northern States as Baltimore and Fair Haven do for 
the Central and the Western. 

Baltimore is the most important of all the cities 
engaged in the oyster trade, as far as regards interior and 
foreign transportation. 

Twenty years ago, an official report on the oyster beds 
of Baltimore gave the aggregate value as follows : — 

Oysters packed in tins ... ... ... ;!^6oo,ooo 

Consumed in the neighbourhood ... ... 200,000 

Shells converted into lime for agricultural purposes 10,000 

Total ... ;^8oo,ooo 

They obtain all their oysters south of the mouth of the 
Patapsco river, a great portion by dredging in 20 fathoms 
water ; these, however, are not so large as those taken with 
tongs in the numerous shallow inlets and bays, and near 
the mouth of the Chesapeake. When planting or parking, 
they take small oysters from deep water, and plant them 
in places where in three years they grow to a very large 
size, without being in the least affected by any kind of 
weather ; consequently . the increase is unfailing. The 
number of vessels employed in the trade then amounted to 
1000, some of which cost £^00, and were capable of 
cariying 3000 bushels. 

The number of houses engaged in this business was then 
25 ; the number of hands employed in opening and packing, 
2500. In some establishments 3000 bushels were opened 
in a day, and in all the establishments 17,000 bushels 
daily. Of this quantity, 9000 bushels were packed in cans 
in a raw state, and the rest pickled, spiced, and hermeti- 
cally sealed for exportation everywhere. About half of the 
packed oysters are consumed in the cities of the Western 
States, and are invariably sold for cash. Within 12 years 



144 Commercial Products of the Sea. 

the business has increased tenfold, which may be attri- 
buted to the facihties of transportation. They now ship raw 
oysters from Baltimore to South America, California, and 
Australia, besides all parts of Europe; and the demand will 
steadily increase as they become better known, from the 
fact that Chesapeake oysters, like canvas-back ducks, owe 
their superior flavour to the food obtained on their feeding 
grounds. 

The oysters of the Pacific are beginning to attract 
attention in British Columbia, and the cultivation of this 
mollusc and the preservation of oysters in tins for foreign 
markets will soon become an important industry there. 

The Chinese have a mode of raising oysters on bamiboo 
screens in the beds of rivers in the southern ports of the 
empire. These are prepared for keeping in the following 
manner : — The oysters, when taken from their shells, are 
placed for a time in boiling water, and taken out with a 
skimmer. They are then exposed in the sun to dry. Oysters 
taken from the rock cannot, it is said, be so preserved. 

The number of oysters consumed in Victoria is very 
large, and averages nearly 1 5,000,000 per annum. Each 
year's return manifests a decided increase over its pre- 
decessor, and there is every likelihood of this number 
being doubled if not trebled in the space of a few years, so 
growing is the passion of oyster-eating." Oysters are 
divided there into two classes, viz., " mud " and " rock." Of 
the former, there are several kinds, varying in quality 
according to the nature of the ground and the depth of 
water in which they lie. The latter is generally found in 
shallow w^ater, bordering on rocks, and is a more delicate 
oyster than the ''mud." Melbourne is supplied from 
several distinct sources, but the great bulk comes from 
New South Wales and Tasmania. A few are also received 



Oysters and other Edible Mollusca. 145 

from Port Albert and Adelaide, and until latterly the 
Western Port beds yielded a large quantity. The oysters 
of New South Wales are principally ''rocks," and are found 
in almost every river and inlet in the colony. The best 
come from the Manning river and Cape Hawk. Those 
coming from the Hunter, near Newcastle, are very small, 
and but seldom used. The number of men engaged in 
the New South Wales fisheries is calculated at almost 
1000, but it is impossible to state the exact number. The 
Tasmanian oysters ("mud") are chiefly found in the bays and 
inlets on the southern coast — the best coming from Port 
Esperance and Spring Bay. Those brought from the 
Swan Ports are very inferior. The number of oysters 
imported from the Tasmanian fisheries is not half so great 
as it was some years ago ; and there cannot now be more 
than about 50 or 60 men employed, whereas there were 
formerly more than three times that number. No oysters 
whatever have been received from Western Port for a con- 
siderable period, though from what cause is not precisely 
known. Formerly there was a fleet of 21 sailing vessels 
employed, and the yield then amounted to over 10,000 
dozen per week. The few received from Adelaide vary in 
quality, but none of them possess such a good flavour as 
the " Sydney rocks," which are more used in the colony 
than any other class of oysters. 

The oyster seasons are : — Of Victoria, from the ist 
February to the 30th September ; but this season is con- 
sidered to commence too early and end too soon. The 
Sydney rock oysters are allowed to be sold all the year 
round. The Tasmanian season is restricted to the period 
intervening between the ist April and the 31st October; 
but any party is allowed to gather enough for his own con- 
sumption at any time. 



146 The Commercial Prodtids of the Sea, 

Clams. — Many molluscs pass under the name of clams. 
The sand or soft clam of the New England States is 
Mya arenaria ; the round clam or hard-shell clam, Venus 
mercenaria; and both these are brought to market as food. 
The sea clam is the Mactra gigaiitea and M. solidissima^ 
Gould ; the razor clam, Solen ensis, Lin. 

The soft clam is, next to the oyster, the most important 
bivalve of the American coast, whether we view it as a 
means of public sustenance, or as an addition to the fish- 
ing industry of the country. Its great abundance on the 
coasts Avhere it is found, the good market it commands, the 
ease with which it can be obtained from the banks at low 
tide, all render it a most valuable source of sustenance to 
the poorer classes. Clam beds are found in sheltered parts 
of the coast, or at least in places w^here the action of the 
waves is not sufficiently strong to change the character of 
the banks. The consumption of these molluscs is con- 
siderable during every season, but especially in summer, 
along the entire coast of the Northern States, from New 
York to Maine ; but nowhere is it so great as at Boston. 
The people of the United States use clams in a variety of 
culinary preparations, the most popular of which is, un- 
doubtedly, a kind of soup especially esteemed in Boston. 

Round clams exist in great abundance on the American 
coast, from Cape Cod almost to the extremity of Florida. 
They are generally found on the shores of gulfs and bays, 
and of the mouths of large rivers which are less exposed 
to the action of the waves than the open coast. Their 
beds are at a depth varying from 6 to 25 feet below the 
surface of the water at low tide. Like all the molluscs of 
that family, they prefer a large proportion of mud with 
the sand in which they live. 

Round clams are the object of an especial culture in 



Oysters and other Edible Mollusca. 147 

America, designed to improve the rapidity of their growth. 
Like the "paires doubles" {Venus verritcosd) or clams of 
the Mediterranean, they are never as delicate in flavour as 
when freshly caught. In summer the consumption of 
clams in the cities of New York and Philadelphia is very 
considerable, much greater than that of the Mya arenaria. 
Like the latter, sold in their natural condition or out of the 
shell, they furnish many excellent dishes, the most esteemed 
of which is clam chowder. Many persons eat the smaller 
specimens raw ; and when flavoured with a few drops of 
lemon juice, they are as palatable as the clovisses {Tapes 
virgmea and T. decussatd) and the " paires doubles " 
{VeitiLs verrucosa), which are the especial favourites of the 
people of Marseilles. 

Whatever may be the value of soft clams as a means of 
sustenance for the people along the coasts, they are still 
more important to the fisheries of the country. The 
Americans have for a long time been aware of the marked 
predilection which many fish, particularly those of the cod 
species, manifest for the flesh of clams, under whatever 
form presented to them. 

Clams are used for bait, either alive or salted, accord- 
ing as the fishery is on the coast or out at sea. Many 
years ago it was estimated that 40,000 bushels of clams 
were consumed in the preparation of salt bait, in addition 
to large quantities used in a natural state by the coast 
fisheries. 

Cockles, mussels, periwinkles, whelks, and other molluscs 
are largely eaten for food in many countries of Europe. 



PART II. 

MARINE CONTRIBUTIONS TO 
INDUSTRY. 



CHAPTER 1. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

Enumeration of some of the various uses of marine products — Animals — Shells 
— Isinglass — Fish skins and leather— Fish scales — Various oils, etc. 

Of the radiate animals, we have among the useful ones the 
edible beche-de-mer or Holothuria (already described), the 
sea-eggs, sea-urchins, or sea-chestnuts {Echini)^ which are 
frequently used as food when full of spawn, and star-fish 
for manure. 

Among those which are ornamental may be named 
the stony corals, the red "organ-pipe" coral {Tubipora 
musica), sea-fans and gorgonas, and madrepores. 

The vast number of small marine animals, particularly 
the shell-fish and corals, are of extreme importance to the 
general economy of nature, acting as scavengers ; inasmuch 
as they in the ocean, in the same manner with insects upon 
the earth, incessantly destroy, consume, and as it were 
metamorphose, an infinite variety of noxious, hurtful, or 
superfluous substances. 

To man they are in so far serviceable that many of the 
mollusca, or naked soft worms, and the shell-fish are 
eatable, some forming a principal article of diet to many 



152 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

navigators and inhabitants of seacoasts. A very beautiful 
purple dye was formerly procured to some extent from 
certain molluscs. Sepia and Indian ink are obtained from 
the peculiar dark fluid of the cuttle-fish. The gall of the 
carp is used in Turkey as a green paint and in staining 
paper. The byssus of certain species of Pinna affords 
a kind of brown silky fibre which may be worked up into 
useful articles. Many kinds of shells contain pearls. Red 
coral is an important article of trade, particularly in the 
East Indies. Several kinds of shells, either entire or 
divided, pass current as money in Africa, India, and other 
remote nations. From portions of shells the North 
American Indians made their wampum — a sort of currency 
which serves the purpose of records. Many savage people 
use mussel, snail, oyster, and tortoise shells for drinking- 
vessels, spoons, etc. In regard to works of art, the mother- 
of-pearl oyster and many mussel and snail shells are cut 
like onyx into cameos, and used for making buttons. The 
cuttle-fish bone is employed by artists and workmen. 
Sponge serves a variety of domestic purposes. Madrepore 
is employed for paving and building on the coasts of the 
Red Sea. Numerous shells and corals are burnt for lime. 
Some large thin shells are used as glass in the south of 
China and in India. Shells are among the most common 
ornaments of savage nations ; and shell flowers, shell 
earrings, shell brooches and bracelets are worn even by 
females in the more civilized countries. 

It is not as nourishment only that fish is made sub- 
servient to commerce. The preparation of isinglass affords 
to some countries the means of extensive trade and specu- 
lation. Sole skins, if clean, sweet, well prepared, and 
dried, can be used as a fining agent, and are sometimes 
employed in households to clarify coffee. It may be 



Introductory Remarks. 



153 



mentioned that the stomach, the intestines, and also the 
skins of different kinds of fish can be used as isinglass 
after being cut and submitted to the action of boiling 
water, and then pressed, which gives the substance the 
appearance of thin leaves, resembling parchment. The 
skins of many are utilized. Leather is largely made from 
seal and porpoise skins, and also prepared from scaled fish 
by the North American Indians ; eel leather is used for 
whips and flail thongs ; shagreen or shark leather, used by 
the Alaska Indians for boot soles ; there is also a sturgeon 
leather. The skins of Diodon are used in making helmets, 
and the stomach membranes of the halibut, in Greenland, 
for window transparencies. Parchment is made from the 
viscera of seals, and used by the Eskimo for clothing, bags, 
and blankets. They also employ the pharynx of the seal or 
walrus as leather for boot soles. Beluga leather is dressed 
as kid, sole, harness, boot, mail bags, belts, and pattern 
leather, etc. Walrus leather is used by the Eskimos for 
harness, tables, thongs, seal-nets, and in Europe for cover- 
ing polishing wheels. The Eskimos also use sea-lion 
leather to cover bidarkas, and for garments and beds. 

Oil is largely obtained from fish for medicine and use in 
manufactures. From the mammals we obtain — seal oil, in 
its various grades, used for lubricating ; sea-elephant and 
sea-lion oil ; dugong oil ; oil from the body of whales, 
grampuses, and porpoises, employed in the arts, for lubri- 
cating, painting, etc. ; black fish and porpoise-jaw oil, used 
in lubricating fine machinery, watches, clocks, and guns; 
grampus oil and sperm oil, used in lamps, for lubricating, 
as an emollient in medicine, for lip-salves, and in the manu- 
facture of spermaceti. The fish oils comprise, among 
others, sun-fish oil and cramp-fish oil, used by fishermen for 
the cure of rheumatism ; cod oil and cod-liver oil, used in 



154 ^^^^ Coimnercial Products of the Sea, 

medicine, as a food and emollient, and in lubricating ; 
hake and haddock-liver oil, used in adulterating cod-liver 
oil ; pollock oil, used by the Shetlanders for illumination ; 
menhaden oil, used in currying leather, in rope-making, for 
lubricating, as a paint oil, and exported to Europe for the 
manufacture of soap and for smearing sheep. Herring oil, 
white fish oil, sturgeon oil, shark oil, and many other oils 
obtained from fishes, and a large part of the seal and black 
whale oil are known indiscriminately as fish oil, and em- 
ployed for various manufacturing uses. Oulachan oil is 
used by the Indians of the north-west coast of America, 
for food and illumination. Shark and skate liver oil, includ- 
ing the Rouen oil," made on the coast of Normandy from 
the liver of Raia aqicila, R. pastinaca, and R. batis^ are used 
like cod-liver oil. 

The bones and debris from the menhaden, herring, 
cod, and other fisheries form fish guano. The scales of 
fish are used in ornamental work, in manufacturing 
flowers and other fancy articles. Among those so em- 
ployed are the scales of parrot-fishes {Scaridce and 
Labridce), of mullets (^AhigilidcE), of sheep's-head, etc. 
{Sparidce), of drum and bass fish {Sciceiiidce), of Serranidce 
and perches (Percidce and Labracidce)^ of Lobotidce, of 
tarpum {Elopidce), of herrings {Cliipeidce), of Cypjdnidce ; of 
eels, used in the north of Europe to give a pearly lustre 
in ornamental house-painting ; of gar pikes, used by Indians 
for arrow tips ; also those of sturgeons, for implements. 
Pearl white, or essence d'Orient, prepared from the scales of 
AlbiLrnus litcidus and other CyprinidcE and CltcpeidcE,!?, used 
in making artificial pearls. The shagreen of the trigger-fish 
{Batistes) is employed in polishing wood ; that of sharks as 
leather and for polishing purposes, particularly in the 
manufacturing of quill pens. 



( 155 ) 



CHAPTER IL 

SPONGE AND THE SPONGE FISHERIES. 

Description of sponges — Two scientific divisions, common and fine — Com- 
mercial grades — Distribution of sponges — Cup-shaped and fistular sponges 
— American sponge fisheries — Mode of procuring and cleaning them. 

Sponge is a substance with which almost every one is 
famiHar, as there are but few families or individuals living 
in civilized communities who do not find occasion to use it 
for a great variety of purposes. The article is so very 
useful that a large number of inconveniences would arise if 
it could not be obtained. What would the surgeon do ? 
what the traveller ? what the housekeeper ? And yet most 
of those who use sponges in an indefinite variety of ways 
all their lives never stop to consider how they are formed, 
whether they are plants or animals, or what are their 
history and habits. 

Sponges consist of a framework or skeleton, coated 
with gelatinous matter, and forming a non-irritable mass, 
which is connected internally with canals of various sizes. 
The ova are very numerous, and present in appearance the 
form of irregular-shaped granules, derived from the gela- 
tinous matter, which grow into ciliated germs, and, falling 
at maturity into the small canals, are then expelled by 
the orifices. When alive, the body is covered by a gela- 



156 The Commercial Prodtids of the Sea. 



tinous film, which, being provided with cilia, causes a 
current of water to pass in at the smaller pores and out at 
the larger apertures, the sponge probably assimilating the 
nutritive particles which enter into the water. 



Fig. 4. 




Sponge showing the outgoing water cun-ents. 

A monograph of these polypes, published in the 20th 
volume of " Des Annales du Museum, Paris," enumerated 
141 species, ranged under six divisions. 

The sponges of commerce are divided into two scientific 
divisions : — 

1. Comprehending the common sponges {Spongia 
officinalis), of rounded or flat form, convex beneath, of soft 
tissue, more or less tenacious, large pored with great 
orifices. 

2. The second division includes the fine sponges 
{Spongia usitatissimurn), of concave or cup-like form, 
having the oscules slender like hair, and the pores very fine 
in the interior. Of these there are 34 species. 



sponge and the Sponge Fisheries. 157 

Sponges are found abundantly in tropical waters 
generally, and perhaps nowhere more abundant than in the 
seas of the Australian islands. They gradually decrease in 
numbers towards the colder latitudes till they become 
entirely extinct. They vary much in shape. Some are 
beautifully shaped like a vase, others are semi-cylindrical, 
others nearly flat like an open fan ; some are branched like 
the opened fingers of a hand, and are called glove sponges, 
and in others these branches seem to be reduced to only 
one, which is shaped somewhat like a club. These vary- 
ing shapes may belong to one species, and the differences 
are due, so far as known, to the fact that the first men- 
tioned are found in deep water, and they grade, in the 
order described, up to the last, which grow in much 
shallower water. 

The commerce in sponges is of considerable impor- 
tance. From a very elaborate and learned paper in a 
recent number of the " Memoirs of the Boston Society of 
Natural History on the North American Poriferae," with 
remarks upon foreign species, we derive the following 
valuable information on the characteristics and classifica- 
tion of the commercial sponges. The great difficulty 
which is experienced in any attempt to distinguish species 
results from the extreme susceptibility of all keratose 
sponges to any change in external conditions. They 
appear to require for the production of the forms in abun- 
dance tropical or sub-tropical seas, and attain by far their 
greatest development in the number of the forms and 
species in the West Indian seas. The typical forms, the 
commercial sponges, are essentially confined to the waters 
of the Caribbean Islands, the Bahaman Archipelago, and 
the southern and western coasts of Florida in the western 
hemisphere, and to the Mediterranean and Red Seas in the 



158 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

other. Australia affords a few forms ; and some species 
are said to be found on the Atlantic coast of Brazil. 
Bermuda also has a few of the commercial kinds, which, 
according to Mr. Goode's report and his suite of specimens, 
are much coarser than the Key West, darker in colour, 
and, in fact, just about intermediate between these and 
those of Australia. They are occasionally found in the 
shops, but, as a rule, are used only by the fishermen 
themselves about their boats, the Bahamas sponges being 
preferred for domestic purposes by the inhabitants. It 
appears that the finest forms grow only in the protected 
lagoons, at depths varying from 5 to 25 feet, on a sandy 
bottom. The temperature is not stated. They are cured 
in a very careless manner by exposure to the weather, 
a process which doubtless does not increase their value. 
The true Spongice are all shallow-water forms. In the 
Mediterranean, according to Von Eckhel, they are not found 
below 30 fathoms, and in American seas about the same 
probably, though not fished to greater depths than five 
fathoms. The fishery is principally carried on in the 
West Indies by the aid of a sort of hooked fork, two 
shepherd's-crook-like hooks on a long pole. The fisher- 
men cannot so successfully work at considerable depths 
with this instrument, as by diving, or with the diving 
apparatus or armour, and various forms of drags, etc., 
employed in the Mediterranean. The greater part of the 
fishery is accomplished between the depth of 3 and 20 feet, 
according to the report of Dr. Palmer, from which these 
remarks are principally derived. The finest qualities of 
American sponges are obtained in the Bahamas, the prin- 
cipal depot being at Nassau. 

The process of preparation is not so careful as in 
Europe, probably owing to the greater coarseness and 



sponge and the Sponge Fisheries, 159 

cheapness of the specimens. The actual fishing is done 
from boats, generally belonging to some schooner or larger 
craft. The boats are sent out from the vessel manned by 
two men. They are generally sold by the cargo. The 
bases are clipped off, and the sponge trimmed with shears 
and packed in pressed bales for transportation to New 
York or England, where they are largely used for the 
manufacture of pilot cloth, hats, etc. The coarser kinds 
and clippings are also used extensively for stuffing mat- 
tresses, carriage cushions, etc., in place of hair. They are 
not of sufficiently good quality to compete with the Medi- 
terranean sponges, and are therefore rarely employed for 
domestic purposes, except in Great Britain and the coun- 
tries of North and South America. The fisheries near 
shore are abandoned in the winter on account of the turbid 
state of the water, which becomes " milky " with sus- 
pended coral sand during the more tempestuous months. 
A more limited fishery, however, is still carried on at 
Anchor Keys, some 35 miles outside of Cedar Keys, and 
in other places where the water is stiller, clearer, and 
warmer than nearer shore. 

The commercial grades coincide very closely in 
America and in Europe, but it is easy to show that each 
of them may be considered a distinct species if one has 
an inclination to multiply in this direction. The grades 
are glove sponge {Spongia officinalis), sub-species tubiili- 
fera ; wool sponge {^Spongia equina), sub-species gossypina ; 
and yellow and hard head (both under the name of 
Spongia agaricina), sub-species corlosia. These correspond 
with remarkable accuracy to the three principal grades 
of commercial sponges in Europe, which are the bath 
sponge {Spongia officinalis), the horse sponge {Spongia 
equina), and the zimocca sponge {Spongia agaricina). 



i6o The Commercial Prodtuts of the Sea. 



This result, in which three species appear on both sides of 
the Atlantic as representing alone the marketable qualities 
of the genus Spongia, becomes of double interest when 
these varieties, or local species as they might be called, are 
compared one with another. It is then found that the 
aspect of the surface is closely similar in each of the three ; 
that sub-species tiibidifera represents Spongia officinalis^ 
sub-species gossypina offsets Spongia equina in the same 
way, and lastly, sub-species corlosia has the same relation 
to Spongia agaricina. In order to make it still more con- 
vincing that such a relationship is not the result of an 
artificial arrangement, it becomes necessary to describe 
some of the facts more at length. First, their similarities 
of surface and aspect are precisely the same as those which 
experience has led me to adopt in the designation of 
species in this group. Secondly, their differences can be 
accounted for by the difference in habitat, and are of varietal 
and not of specific value, according to the accepted use of 
the term species. 

The whole group of Keratosa is confined to seas in 
which the differences observable between the winter and 
summer isotherms are not excessive. None are found 
north of Cape Hatteras and Bermuda, and doubtless a 
similar limit occurs to the southward of the equator ; at 
least, it is a noticeable fact that the only specimens in the 
Museum of Comparative Zoology are from the island of 
Fernando Noronha. On the Pacific shore, Southern Cali- 
fornia and Chili are the extreme points so far known. On 
the opposite coast of the Atlantic they are recorded from 
England to the Cape of Good Hope, and also at the island 
of Tenerifife. In the Indian Ocean they are found all 
along the east coast of Africa, at the Mauritius, and on the 
shores of India. They have been described from the 



sponge and the Sponge Fisheries. i6i 

southern part of the Sea of Okhotz, on the Asiatic conti- 
nent, and specimens are not uncommon on the coasts of 
AustraHa and New Zealand. In the Pacific they have been 
found at the Kingmills Islands and Hawaiian Islands. 
The extreme outlying form to the north, on both sides of 
the Atlantic, is the excessively coarse Dysidea fragilis, with 
its fibres loaded with debris. Those from the Cape of 
Good Hope and Southern Australia also belong to the 
coarser genera. The species cited by Miklucho Maclay 
from the Sea of Okhotz seems to be one of the Phyllo- 
spongidce, but there is no analysis of the characteristics of 
the skeleton, only the external form being described and 
figured in his article on the sponges of the North Pacific 
("Memoires de I'Acad. Imp. de St. Petersburg," vol. 75, 
No. 3). It would seem, therefore, that the finer skeletons 
of the Keratosa, those of the genus Spongia, are only to 
be sought in the intermediate zone, where the waters are of 
equable and high temperature. Again, in examining the 
species of this genus with relation to each other, it becomes 
equally evident that they are finest and most numerous in 
archipelagoes, or off coasts which are bordered by large 
numbers of islands, or long reefs, or in sheltered seas. 

Mr. Gurdon Saltonstall states that the sponges near 
Nassau lie on reefs very much exposed to the action of 
the waves, often 30 miles from land, and always in 
currents, sometimes running three or four knots an hour. 
Such currents are usual wherever groups of islands confine 
the tide water within certain definite channels, and they 
have also the efi'ect of concentrating the floating food in 
the channels, or wherever tides meet. Both of these con- 
ditions are essential to successful sponge growth, namely, a 
continuous renewal of aerated water and a plentiful supply 
of food, and are probably partly the cause of their abun- 

M 



1 62 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

dance in such places. This entirely agrees with obser- 
vations made upon many species on the North American 
coast of Chalinince and Halichondrida. Constant reference 
to physical influence is also noticeable in the map prepared 
by Von Eckhel, and in the method of classification adopted 
by him. The marketable qualities are described as " sorts," 
and the difl"erent " sorts " designated by letters, as " sort A," 
''sort B," and so on. These sorts he has found it most 
convenient to arrange according to localities, and thus under 
some " sorts " we have all the three species represented ; 
all, however, from the same place, and all having some 
local peculiarity which makes them either of superior or 
inferior quality. The author also frequently refers to the 
slimy character of the bottom as a reason for inferiority 
or dark colour. On the American side of the Atlantic 
this is also shown by the great difference in point of colour 
and fineness between the Nassau and Key West sponges. 
The former are lighter coloured, finer, more elastic, and 
more durable, than the same species at Key West, where 
the colour is so dark that it designates at once the locality 
from which the specimen came. 

Again, the shallow-water sponges are coarser than the 
deep-water forms. This is probably due, in part, as in 
other species, to the quantity of sediment, which is of 
course less in deep than in shallow water, as, for example, 
at Key West in the winter time. Mr. Saltonstall, who made 
inquiries among the spongers, states that no fine qualities 
of any sponges are found within the limits of the milky 
water, but all the finer qualities of the marketable kinds in 
the deepest water in which the species occur, except, perhaps, 
in the case of the reef sponge. Glove, reef, and hard head 
are fished in shallow waters, greatest depth two fathoms, and 
the other and generally finer marketable varieties from two 



sponge and the Sponge Fisheries. 163 

to five fathoms. This fact also explains, in a measure, but 
not wholly, the greater coarseness of American sponges as 
compared with the European ; for though it may be 
assumed from the examination of the skeletons that Medi- 
terranean sponges are much less exposed to turbid waters, 
and though it may be shown by the microscope that the 
primary fibres contain less debris^ this does not wholly 
explain their greater fineness and elasticity. We may 
attribute this either wholly or partly to climatic con- 
ditions. 

If either the temperature or density of the water had 
been exceptional, we might have gained some additional 
information, but as it is, we cannot assume that either 
cause would have been sufficient to account for the absence 
of the SpongicE from the Euxine. According to Carpenter, 
in his articles on the Mediterranean and Black Sea, there 
is a strong current continually flowing at the depth of 20 
fathoms from the Mediterranean into the Black Sea, and a 
return surface current from the Black Sea into the Mediter- 
ranean. The sponges occur necessarily in the shallower 
waters of the Sea of Marmora, since they are said by Von 
Eckhel to be fished for mostly with the harpoon, and are 
probably exposed more or less to the influence of the sur- 
face current. Under these circumstances, they must very 
often be able to endure a degree of cold during the winter, 
and an amount of change in the density of the water, for 
which it becomes difficult to account, even taking into con- 
sideration the inferior quality of their skeletons. It is 
possible, however, that the water of the northern part of 
the Black Sea may not aff"ect the temperature of the 
southern part to such an extent as would at first sight 
appear probable, and that, notwithstanding the lower tem- 
perature of the northern shores, the general temperature of 



164 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

the surface water during the winter immediately east and 
west of the Bosphorus may not fall below 55° as a 
minimum. 

The northern shore of the ^gean Sea and the eastern 
shore of the Adriatic Sea are populous with sponges, and 
yet the former throughout its whole extent, and the latter 
from Ragusa to Istria, have nearly the same average winter 
temperature, and possess a colder climate in winter than 
the coast of southern Italy or Spain, where no Spongice 
exist. Again, upon consulting the invaluable little Eckhe- 
lian pamphlet, we find that the sponges correspond in 
quality to this climatic change. The sort found at the 
head of the vEgean is said to be the Spongia officinalis 
alone, and to have a "heavy, hard, close, very hairy 
skeleton, often containing slime," and it is further added 
that it is not much liked, and is usually fished with the 
harpoon. The same species exist also alone at correspond- 
ing localities along the shore of the Adriatic, and at the 
extreme locality, the island of Istria, upon the limit of its 
distribution, it is said to be very rare, the form to be ugly, 
the skeleton hard, the colour dark. Farther south, along 
the Dalmatian coast, it becomes abundant, finer in texture 
and of a lighter colour, but it is still inferior to the more 
southern or Levantine variety. In considering such classes 
of facts, it must also be borne in mind that the habitat of a 
certain sort of variety may largely determine the quality of 
the skeleton, even where the temperature may be very 
favourable. Thus, to the south of Quarnero, among the 
islands, a much better quality of Spongia officinalis occurs 
than in the milder sea about the Ionian Islands, which, as 
Eckhel remarks, is probably attributable to the slimy 
character of the bottom. 

The finest sponges in the Mediterranean, those of the 



sponge and the Sponge Fishe7''ies. 165 

Levant and off the Syrian and Tripoli coasts, are found 
between the average aerial winter temperature of 63° and 
70°, and the isochrymals of 50° — 57°, and at no time of the 
year are these, which, as stated, by Von Eckhel, occur in 
the deeper water at a distance from the coast, probably ex- 
posed to a lower temperature than 60°. 

In describing the species of this genus I have made 
comparisons between three principal Mediterranean and 
three of the American commercial sponges, in order to 
show the very evident relationship of these forms. Schmidt 
describes five Mediterranean species in all, and may be 
right ; but so far as I can understand his descriptions, with 
the aid of a fine collection of specimens purchased by Pro- 
fessor Baird for the National Museum from Mr. Isaacs, of 
New York, I cannot make more than three out of the ordi- 
nary commercial varieties, which were fully represented, and 
appeared to include the entire range of his five species. 
Von Eckhel's work upon the " Badeschwamme," although 
a purely commercial treatise, has the same view of the 
affinities of the sponges, based upon the observations of the 
fishermen and dealers, and the distribution of the species. 
The latter is quite remarkable. Only one species, the 
Spongia officinalis, Lin., Adriatica, Schm., is found on the 
eastern shore of the Adriatic and coast of Greece, from 
Trieste to the Bay of Nauplia. From Nauplia and the 
island of Candia to Eritra, on the coast of Asia Minor, two 
occur, Spongia officijialis and Spongia agaricana, Pall., 
Zimocca, Schm. From Eritra, opposite the island of Chios, 
to Tripoli, all three, Spongia officinalis, agaricana, and equina, 
are fished, except at the island of Cyprus, where the 
zimocca sponge does not live. From Tripoli to Tunis two 
only occur, Spongia officinalis and equina, and from thence 
to Ceuta, at the Straits of Gibraltar, a very peculiar dark- 



1 66 The Commercial Prodiicts of the Sea. 

coloured and coarse variety of the Spongia eqinna is 
obtained, called the gerbis sponge. 

The distribution indicates the naturalness of the three 
species, and shows also that the dealers have to do with a 
vast variety of forms. They can, however, pick out the 
three species and their varieties without hesitation, and I 
was amused and interested at finding that the method 
pursued was precisely similar to that which I had been 



Fig. 5. 




Outer surface of different kinds of sponge (natural size). A, Cup-shaped 
variety ; B, honeycomb sponge ; C, toilet sponge ; D, Bahamas sponge, partly 
in sections, showing projecting extremities and internal tubular character. 

obliged to adopt in distinguishing empirically the various 
sub-species and species of Spongia. They are led mainly 
by the general aspect of the surface. This has a distinct 



sponge and the Sponge Fisheries. 167 

appearance in every species, and though much altered by 
the greater or less development of superficial tufts, is much 
more constant than any other character. This is due to 
the fact that the surface takes its aspect largely from the 
number, distribution, and size of the pores, cloacal orifices, 
superficial canals, and primary fibres. These characteristics, 
of course, are directly correllated with all that is important in 
the internal anatomy of the animal, and should therefore be 
more constant than the length, form, or composition of the 
tufts of fibres, or the shape of the whole, which are capable 
of great modification, according to the locality in which the 
specimen may be found. The forms of Spongia officinalis 
may vary from cup-shape to fistular, and to irregular or 
lump-like. The latter are usually coarser and looser in 
texture, the superficial tufts are longer and more numerous, 
and they approximate more closely to the coarser varieties 
of sub-species ttibulifera of the Caribbean Sea in the 
external aspect of the surface and the apertion of the 
interior, than the finer varieties. 

The texture of the poorest variety of the Mediterranean 
sponges is, however, always better for domestic purposes 
than the best of the corresponding American varieties, 
being firmer and more elastic ; and it is also to be remarked 
that the last never have the cup-shape, which is so common 
in the sub-species Mediterranea, and that the fistular 
form takes its place. The forms of Spongia agaricina, 
sub-species Zimoccay vary from saucer-shape to irregular, 
lump-like growth. As in the Spongia officinalis, it may be 
shown that these aberrant forms are quite similar to the 
aberrant or formless varieties of the sub-species pimctata of 
Florida, as regards the aspect of the surface ; but these also 
are nevertheless much finer than the finest varieties of the 
latter. Here, again, the platter or saucer shape, which is 



1 68 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

a modification of the cup-shape, is absent. Spongia equina 
exhibits similar degrees of variation in the texture of the 
surface and the form. There are no proper cup-shaped 
specimens among the American varieties of sub-species 
gossypina, but in place of these the fistular form. These 
occur generally associated in clumps, more or less densely 
filled up into heads, and solid, but sometimes the tubes are 
almost isolated. The younger specimens of this species 
have a very loose and open texture, due to the approxima- 
tion and large size of the openings, and to a less degree 
this is also to be remarked in the gerbis sponge. The 
former approximate in aspect to the coarser qualities of 
the American species, and so also does the latter, which 
has very nearly the same colour and aspect as the dark- 
coloured Key West specimens, but it is not so coarse or 
dark. It seems, then, that there are three sub-species of 
commercial value in the Mediterranean, which find their 
way into the New York and European markets. The 
coarsest varieties of the European sponges are finer, firmer, 
and more elastic than the finest of the corresponding 
American sub-species. This is directly traceable to the 
larger amount of foreign matter included in the primary 
threads, the looser mesh of the tissue ; the fibres are also 
comparatively coarser and the large cloacal channels more 
numerous throughout the mass. 

Thus the different varieties of sub-species gossypina 
differ in an exactly similar way from each other, and from 
the third form, sub-species cerebrifoj'inis ; they differ in 
texture, in surface, and also in habitat, the finer kinds, as 
stated previously, being found in the deeper water, equally 
removed from excessive heat and excessive sediment. 
These three sub-species run together by means of specimens 
of the coarser varieties, which cannot be distinguished 



sponge and the Sponge Fisheries. 169 



Fig. 6. 




Cup-shaped sponges in natural positionj rooted to rock. 



1 70 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 

from each other with any certainty, in the same manner as 
the corresponding sub-species in the Mediterranean and 
Caribbean Seas were connected, through the coarser, and 
not by the aid of the finer varieties. It is evident, how- 
ever, that besides the general differences previously noted, 
the cup-shape form is not found in the American sub- 
species, whereas it is the prevalent form of the Mediter- 
ranean sub-species. A cursory examination of a large 
collection will, however, satisfy any one that the shape does 
not necessarily correllate with a finer or a coarser skeleton, 
but probably with a more or less extended base of attach- 
ment and local peculiarities, such as currents, and the kind 
of bottom, etc., which have not been investigated in this 
connection. 

The American Sponge Fisheries, — The coarser de- 
scriptions of sponge entering into commerce are procured 
about the Bahamas banks and the coast of Florida. 

Sponge fishing is said to have become a very profitable 
business in the neighbourhood of Key West, Florida. The 
article is mostly procured there by the natives of the 
Bahamas, who best understand the business of sponges ; 
and its principal grounds are Rock Island, a scope of 
land 30 miles long by seven miles broad, lying off 
Taylor county and 60 miles north-west from Cedar 
Keys ; thence from the mouth of the Withlacoochee, past 
Martin's Reef to near Tampa Bay, a distance of perhaps 
300 miles. 

The number of small schooners engaged is between 
75 and 100, with an average of from 5 to 15 men to 
each, and an average of three dingies to each vessel. 
The vessels built for the purpose are half oval-shape, and 
as flat as is consistent with due regard to sailing qualities. 
Dingy, or dincey, is the small boat used to gather the 



sponge and the Sponge Fisheries. 171 

sponge, and is usually naanaged by two men. There are 
about 600 men daily engaged in gathering when the 
weather is fair. Quiet weather and calm sea are always 
taken advantage of. These dingies, when likely to be 
called into service, are towed Indian file at the stern of the 
larger vessel. Each sponger is provided with a " sponge- 
hook," made of iron, with three prongs, a socket fitting on 
a pole one and a half inches thick and from 18 to 35 
feet long ; also a " water-glass," a bucket with a pane of 
glass fitted in the bottom. This adds to the power of 
vision by excluding the light from behind, enabling the 
sponger to penetrate with his eye at least 10 or 15 feet 
deeper into the water. The sculler propels the boat along 
very slowly; in the mean time the sponger sits hanging 
over the side of the dingy with his head at the bucket 
held by the hand and his eye penetrating the depths below, 
taking in all that passes within his line of vision. As soon 
as he sees his legitimate prey, he raises his sponge-hook 
with his right hand, in which he is assisted by the sculler, 
still keeping his eye at the glass, grapples the sponge, then 
puts aside the glass and hauls it in. 

Frequently his sight is darkened and view obstructed 
by the intervention of the monsters of the deep. A huge 
shark, a sawfish, or perhaps an enormous devil-fish, very 
often large schools of beautiful fish, " Spanish mackerel," 
" cavallie," " sailor's choice," " pompeno," pass beneath him 
in such numbers as to seriously interfere with his occupation. 
Again, his sight is regaled with lovely coral formations, 
deep fissures and grottoes, gem-lined within. 

When a dingy load is gathered, the sponges are taken 
to the vessel, where they are placed roots down, eyes up, 
until they are dead. This part of the sponge fishing is the 
most disagreeable, and causes the vessel to be almost 



ij2 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



unbearable, the sponge exhuming a bloody, slimy matter 
of most offensive odour. 

The vessel having secured a full cargo makes for port, 
when the sponges are taken ashore and buried in the sand 
in a place technically called a "crawl." It is generally 
constructed of a paling of oak staves driven in the sand, 
and the lee of some island is selected 'as the spot. The 
sponges are left a week or longer, when the slimy flesh, as 
it may be called, having rotted off, the sponger goes into 
the crawl with a "bruiser" (a small paddle), and with a 
few strokes on the top of the sponge, clears it from the 
filth and skin ; after which it is assorted into the dif- 
ferent varieties, collected upon strings of convenient length 
and bleached in the sun, when they are ready for the 
market. 

The sponge on the bar grows something like a bed of 
cabbages or mushrooms, and presents a beautiful appear- 
ance, very dark and seemingly having eyes. The sponge 
reefs in deep water are called "feather bars," from the 
feathery or fan-like appearance of the coral, very often 
seen growing up through the sponge, and in such places 
the larger sponges are generally found. The different 
kinds of sponge found on this coast are known as " log- 
gerhead," "sheep-wool," "turtle-grass," and "yellow." The 
sheep-wool and yellow only are marketable. The latter 
is worth IS. per pound ; sheep-wool averaging 4^. per 
pound. 

There are two sponge seasons proper, during the winter 
and summer months ; should the water continue clear, 
however, it then lasts all through the j^ear. 

The common practice is to gather sponge on shares, 
the vessel getting one-third and the crew two-thirds, the 
provision bill being assessed in the same ratio. The 



sponge and the Sponge Fisheries. 173 



sponges gathered in Florida waters are taken from the 
fishermen at Key West, Cedar Keys, and Apalachicola. 
The amount of money paid out per annum is as follows : — 
At Key West, ^^24,000; Cedar Keys, ^13,000; Apala- 
chicola, ^11,000 — a total of ^48,000. 



1 74 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE SPONGE FISHERY OF THE BAHAMAS. 

The Bahamas sponge grounds — Statistics of the fishery — Gathering and cleaning 
the sponge — Eleven sorts specified — Value of the exports from Bahamas — 
New uses for sponge — Bleaching sponges — Reproduction and trans- 
planting sponges. 

Bahamas Sponge. — About 500 vessels are constantly 
engaged in the trade, 3000 men find employment, and 
through it ^20,000 to ;£'30,ooo sterling are annually circu- 
lated and spent in the colony. 

The great sponging grounds lie to the east, west, and 
south of New Providence. Although often far from the 
shore, and at a depth of 20, 40, or even 60 feet, it can 
easily be descried through the transparent waters on the 
clear sandy bottoms, from which it is raked or grappled up. 

From William's Cay, Andros Island, the fine qualities 
of glove sponge are obtained. This kind is used principally 
for surgical purposes, and is sent generally to America, 
as the Mediterranean supplies Europe with this description 
of sponge. 

The process of cleaning the sponge here is very sim.ple. 
It is kept on the decks of the vessel until it is quite dead, 
when it is thrown into a " crawl " made for the purpose, 



The Sponge Fishery of the Bahamas. 175 

through which the tide flows, and left to soak from four to 
six days, when it is beaten with a flat piece of stick, and 
then becomes quite clean. A few years ago the practice 
was to bury the sponge for 20 days, by which time the 
gelatinous animal matter was destroyed or eaten away by 
the insects that swarm in the sand. This has been entirely 
done away with ; the present custom is more simple, and 
cleans the sponge better. The sponge is then assorted and 
compressed in powerful presses like cotton. Each bale or 
package has fastened to it outside a sample to show the 
quality. 

Strange to say, spongers, as a rule, are not very good 
judges of the quality of the sponge they gather. They 
seldom seem to know good from bad sponge. The conse- 
quence is that much of very inferior quality is brought to 
market, and realizes very low prices. This is an evil which 
could easily be remedied. The gathering and cleaning of 
common sponge entails as much trouble and fatigue as the 
collecting of what is valuable and good. Spongers should 
be more observant of the various qualities of sponges. 
They ought to know a sound from a sucked sponge — a 
sponge of fine texture and good shape from one of bad 
shape and coarse. 

Bahamas sponge is classified into 1 1 sorts. From the 
south-eastern extremity of Andros Island, and all over 
the Exuma banks, the fine large sheep-wool or honeycomb 
sponge is chiefly found. This kind is known as the bath 
sponge, and is by far the most valuable and merchantable. 
The other kinds are the reef or fine toilet, the boat, the 
velvet, yellow, hard head. Long Island, grass, common or 
glove, and refuse. None of these are very valuable, ex- 
cepting the velvet sponge, which is obtained from the west 
end of Bahamas and William's Cay. From these two 



176 The Commercial Prodttcts of the Sea. 

places this kind of sponge, although coarse, hard, and com- 
mon wherever else obtained, almost equals the far-famed 
Turkish sponge in texture, and is very nearly as valuable 
as the sheep-wool. From the extensive banks to the south- 
east of Andros Island, a very inferior and coarse velvet 
sponge is gathered, which is brought in large quantities to 
market ; being tough and soft, it is much used in stables. 
It does not realize a high price, but the sponging vessels 
more than make up for the inferior quality by the im- 
mense quantity which can easily be obtained. New tracts 
of sponge are seldom found. Spongers, as a rule, seem 
to prefer to sponge upon the old, well-known grounds, 
which, by being frequently searched, are consequently 
nearly w^orked out. There are unquestionably immense 
fields of sponge all over the banks that yet remain 
undiscovered — sources of future wealth which will be 
opened up in time to those who seek them. Sponge is 
taken from the bottom of the sea here by means of a hook 
attached to a long staff. The length of the staff required 
is usually 25 feet. The best quahties of sponge are found 
in the deepest water, excepting the fine glove. 

In 1875 great exertion was made to procure the better 
classes of sponge, viz., wool, reef, velvet, and boat. The 
demand for these kinds w-as somewhat greater, and the 
prices ranged higher. It is, however, more and more appa- 
rent to those who w^atch the lots as they arrive in the 
market, that the proportion of sponges of suitable size for 
the trade is decreasing gradually ; and unless new beds are 
discovered, or the coarser kinds, of which large quantities 
exist, can be utilized, or the fisheries of Cuba be opened to 
the Bahamas spongers so as to allow time for the young 
sponge in the neighbourhood of these islands to attain 
sufficient growth, a large number of those engaged in the 



The Sponge Fishery of the Bahamas, 177 



business will have to withdraw, as even now it hardly com- 
pensates them for their labour. 

The rapid strides made in sponging within the Bahamas 
group appears almost incredible. It only commenced in 
1 841. The early stages of the trade a quarter of a cen- 
tury ago, and its progress since, are shown in the following 
statistics : — 

Value of the Exports from the Bahamas. 



Cwts. Value. 

1849 — •■• ••• ;^2,2i7 

1850 ... ... — ... ... 5,700 

1851 ... ... — ... ... 14,000 

1852 — 11,257 

1855 2399 9,615 

1856 ... ... 1800 ... ... 6,723 

1857 2657 11,025 

1858 3357 17,254 

1866 ... ... 8630 ... ... 40,000 

1869 ... ... 3887 ... ... 28,000 

1870 ... ... 2836 ... ... — 

1871 ... ... — ... ... 14,868 

1873 5000 32,938 

1874 2472 15,551 

1875 ... ... 1940 ... ... 15,638 



About half the quantity collected is shipped to the United 
States, and half to England. 

Before sponges pass into commerce they are trampled 
on, pressed, washed a great many times in salt and fresh 
water frequently changed, until the gelatinous mucus with 
which they are covered has disappeared. They are then 
passed through boiling water, with the view of ridding them, 
if possible, of the peculiar smell arising from the animal 
matter attached to the fibrous tissues. 

To bleach sponges, they are steeped in a dilute solution 
of sulphuric acid of i to i '03 degrees, and they are left to 
steep five or six days, taking care to press them from time to 

N 



1 78 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



time. It is necessary^ before the bleaching to remove any 
calcareous matter which may adhere to the sponges, by 
soaking them for about an hour in dilute hydrochloric acid. 
The following is the chemical analysis of sponge : — 



Carbon ... ... ... ... 47*16 

Hydrogen ... ... ... ... 6'3i 

Nitrogen ... ... ... ... 16-15 

Oxygen ... ... ... ... 26*90 

Iodine ... ... ... ... i'o8 

Sulphur ... ... ... ... 0*50 

Phosphorus ... ... ... ... 1*90 



100 

If sponges were more generally abundant in commerce 
and somewhat cheaper in price, many more uses might be 
found for them. Thus, they would make excellent material 
for stuffing beds and furniture — a use to which they have 
already been put in America — for large and white tissues 
for purifying and filtering liquids, paper stuff, etc. 

One of the uses to which sponge has of late years been 
applied ia America is to make what is termed elastic 
sponge for stuffing in upholstery purposes. The raw 
sponge is received in hard, dirty masses, filled with sand 
and bits of shell. Being soaked in a large tank of 
water, it expands into such condition that its quality 
may be ddiermined, and it is then sorted into two kinds — 
the " soft " for mattress stock, and the " hard " for cushions. 

The cleansing process, which is an exceedingly impor- 
tant one, then begins in another room. In order to efi"ect 
this, the sponge is first cut and washed, by passing for an 
hour through a huge tube, in which there is a series of 
knives, through which the sponge is made to pass by means 
of the movement given to the water by a wheel. The 
water, too, is constantly changing, so that by this process 
the sponge is nicely cut, and its filth separated in part. It 



The Sponge Fishery of the Bahamas. 179 

is next soaked for 20 minutes in a tank of water, con- 
taining 2° (hydrometer) of soda ash and heated to 150°. 
It is then passed into a tank containing a hot solution 
of very strong detergent soap, where it is soaked for 
half an hour with constant and violent agitation. It then 
returns to the first tub, where it is washed another hour 
and cut more finely. The cleansing process is then com- 
plete, and after the water has been pressed out by pass- 
ing through rollers, it is carried by the elevator to the 
" drying-room," two stories above, where a high degree of 
temperature is maintained, and it is dried in large revolving 
cylinders. It is then clean and without smell, but hard and 
inelastic in character, and in that condition totally valueless 
for the purpose of stuffing. 

It was at this point that the inventor's skill was 
necessary. The pores of the sponge closed when the water 
had evaporated, and no permanent elasticity could be 
had unless these were held open permanently. Glycerin, 
being a non-evaporative substance, was found to answer 
the purpose. The remainder of the process is then as 
follows : — The dry hard sponge is placed in a solution of 
glycerin and water, in the proportion of about half and 
half, and after passing through heavy rollers it is again 
dried in the cylinders. The aqueous portion then evapo- 
rates, and leaves the bits of sponge dry and sweet, and so 
permeated with the glycerin that a permanent elasticity is 
maintained. It is then at last taken to the packing-room, 
highly compressed into bales of about 40 lbs. each, and is 
ready for market. 

An enterprise was started in the United States in 1873^ 
for manufacturing the coarser sponges, sent as grass, glove, 
and refuse, into a sort of felting to be laid under carpets. 
Large quantities of these kinds were purchased in the 



I So The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



Bahamas early in 1S74 ; but the demand ceased in the latter 
part of the year, and the manufacture appears to have 
failed. 

Persons may well be cautioned against buying cheap 
sponges from itinerant venders in the streets, which have 
probably done dut}' in hospitals, stables, or for other vile 
uses, and, even if they have been chemically washed and 
bleached, can scarcely be considered wholesome. Sponges 
which have been used in bathing wounds are liable to 
retain a disagreeable odour ; while bacteria, monads, and 
various contaminating matters may be found in them. To 
obviate the evil, the infected sponge is impregnated with 
a solution of four parts of permanganate of potash to 100 
parts of water ; passing it next through a solution of sul- 
phuric acid, and then washing with water. The sponge 
recovers its primitive state, and even its marine odour and 
the tissue is improved. 

The Societe d'Acclimatation of Paris, early in 1862, sent 
out ^I. Lamiral to the coast of Syria, with a view to obtain 
sponges for transplantation. On his return, in Sep- 
tember of that year, he presented a report. In this he dis- 
tinguishes three kinds of sponges for which there is a 
demand — the fine and soft sponge, called abiajid ; the fine 
and hard sort, called achmar ; and lastly, the common sort, 
called cahar by the Arabs. These sponges are found in 
the Levant within the 36th and 33rd degrees of latitude : 
that is, between Alexandretta and Saida. 

It is now universally acknowledged that sponges belong 
to the animal kingdom, and are an aggregate of cellules 
built up by gelatinous polypi similar to those which con- 
struct madreporse, porites, and other polypifers. \\Tien the 
sponge is first gathered at the bottom of the sea, it is 
covered with a black but transparent gelatinous substance. 



The Sponge Fishery of the Bahamas, i8i 



resembling vegetable granulations, among which micro- 
scopic white and oviform bodies may be distinguished. 
These are the larvae destined to perpetuate the species. 
When arrived at maturity, they are washed out by the sea 
water which incessantly flows through the sponge ; they 
then swim along, by the aid of the vibrating cilia or hairs 
with which they are provided, until they reach a suitable 

Fig. 7. 




Sponges. 



rock, to which they attach themselves, and there commence 
a new life. This emigration of the larvae from the parent 
sponge occurs about the end of June and the beginning of 
July. The fine qualities of sponges are chiefly found at 
the depth of 15 fathoms or thereabout; the common 
sponge lies at depths varying between 20 and 30 fathoms. 

At Tripoli (on the coast of Syria, not of Africa) M. 
Lamiral engaged some divers, who commenced operations 
on the 2 1st of May. The sponges gathered were imme- 



1 82 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 

diately placed in boxes, through which a stream of sea 
v/ater was constantly made to flow, the animal matter being, 
of course, left on them, and protected from injury. These 
sponges arrived at Marseilles on the 17th of June; thence 
they were taken to Toulon and the islands of Hyeres, 
where stone troughs, with five sponges in each, were sunk 
in different places. 

During the past few years, Dr. Oscar Schmidt, Professor 
of Zoology at the University of Gratz, has employed 
several weeks of the early summer in artificially producing 
and rearing the bath sponge. His labours have met with 
such success that his system has been adopted by the 
Austrian Government, and is now carried on on the coast 
of Dalmatia. 

It has for some time been a well-known fact that several 
families of zoophytes have such great powers of reproduc- 
tion, that a portion of one will grow and form on an entire 
new body. This property has been taken advantage of by 
Dr. Schmidt, his process being to cut the sponge into 
pieces, fasten each portion to a pile, and immerse it in the 
sea. The pieces then grow, and eventually from each one 
a spherical sponge is obtained. According to the estimates 
of Dr. Schmidt, a small piece of sponge at the end of three 
years will represent a value of 5^. The total cost of raising 
4000 sponges, including the interest on the expended 
capital for three years, is estimated at 8^., and the 
income at about £\6^ leaving therefore a net profit of 
nearly £%. There is no doubt but that the practice of this 
branch of industry will be the means of considerable 
benefit to the inhabitants of the Idrian and Dalmatian 
coasts. 



( i83 ) 



CHAPTER IV. 

SPONGE FISHERIES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

Sponge trade of the Ottoman Islands — Market prices of sponge — Number of 
boats employed — Fishing grounds on the coast of Candia, Syria, and 
Barbary — Statistics of the fisheries — Operation of diving — Diving-bells 
and dresses now used — Imports of sponge from the Mediterranean — Total 
imports of sponge into the United Kingdom — French trade in sponge — 
Silicious sponges. 

The Sponge Trade of the Ottoman Islands. — It appears 
that, with few exceptions, in which the owners of sponge 
boats have capital, all the funds required for the equipment 
of these boats are furnished by native money-lenders, and 
that important foreign capital, especially British and 
French, has latterly been invested in diving apparatus 
since the introduction of this new mode of fishing for 
sponges in these islands. It is noticeable, too, that a large 
French firm, whose operations in this trade were on a very 
extensive scale, have of late somewhat reduced their trade, 
while on the other hand the use of British-made machines 
continues to increase, and it is mentioned that there is a 
decided preference on the part of the natives to work with 
British rather than with French diving apparatus. The 
whole of the machines now employed in the Ottoman 
islands is upwards of icq. Owing to the depressed prices 



184 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



at which sponges have been sold during the last few years, 
and which have prevented divers from paying their debts to 
the native money-lenders, the latter, although in possession 
of bills for important sums of money, have not a sufficiency 
of cash to equip all the boats suitable for the sponge 
fishery. Notwithstanding the adverse circumstances, the 
quantity of sponges obtained of late has exceeded that of 
former years, in consequence of the more abundant crops 
and improved diving apparatus. At the island of Halki, 
for instance, where 10 years ago the produce in sponges 
was hardly ;^ 10,000 a year, it amounts now, with the same 
number of boats, but working with diving apparatus, to 
nearly ^20,000, thus showing a very important augmenta- 
tion. It is mentioned, however, that the produce in sponges 
seems more than sufficient for the demand ; and if all the 
available boats in these islands could procure the required 
money to enable them to go fishing, the extra quantities of 
sponges which would then encumber the markets would 
lower the price of the article to rates which would prove 
ruinous to the divers. 

The average market prices of sponges for the year 1872 
are shown per oke (equal to 2f lbs.) in the subjoined table: — 



Countries. 


Fine. 


Honeycomb. 


Haxd brown. 




J. 


d. 


s. 


d. 




d. 


s. 


d. 


s. d. s. d. 


Bengazi ... 


40 


0 








6 






8 0 


ISIandmha 


48 


0 


to 64 


0 


19 


0 to 


21 


0 


10 0 to 12 6 


Syria 


29 


0 


„ 32 


0 


II 




12 


6 


40^50 


Caramania 


24 


0 


32 


0 


9 


6 „ 


II 


0 


3 3 4 0 


Cyprus ... 










II 


0 „ 


12 


6 




Crete 


24 


0 


„ 32 


0 


II 


0 „ 


12 


6 




Rhodes, and other Otto- 




















man isles 


24 


0 


„ 32 


0 


8 


0 „ 


9 


6 




Greece 


12 


6 


„ 16 


0 


6 


3 


8 


0 





Bengazi and Mandruha sponges are not sold by weight. 



sponge Fisheries of the Mediterranean. 185 

but by piece ; for the sake of comparison, however, their 
prices are proportioned to others. Bengazi fine sponges are 
exceedingly scarce. 

The prices quoted in the foregoing, although higher 
than those of the two preceding years, are still rather 
low, and Hellenic sponge boats, which used to bring and 
sell their crops in the markets of the Sporades, now 
abstain from doing so. In fact, owing to the reduced prices 
offered in these islands for sponges, several of the most 
enterprising native sponge-dealers decided, a few years ago, 
instead of selling their sponges in the local market, to con- 
vey them to Europe, and retail them on their own account 
from place to place. There is not a single country — even 
Sweden and Norway — which these sponge-dealers have not 
visited, in order to sell their goods. A few of them jour- 
neyed even as far as America ; while some settled in London, 
where their countrymen ultimately bought the quantities 
which they had not been able to dispose of in their peregri- 
nations. These attempts have been so far successful. It is 
stated that the value of sponges sent annually to Great 
Britain is no less than ;^70,ooo. 

The principal article of export from the Ottoman 
Archipelago is sponge. The number of boats employed 
varies, ranging from 400 to 600 in the year. The latter 
number may be said to be thus distributed, as belonging to 
the different islands : — 



Calmynos ... ... ... 254 

Symi... ... ... .. ... 190 

Halki ... ... ... ... 65 

Castel Rosso ,.. ... ... .. 40 

Leros ... ... .. ... 30 

Stampalia ... ... ... ... 12 

Telos ... ... ... - .. 7 

Cassos ... ... ... .. 2 



600 



1 86 The Co7nniercial Products of the Sea. 

As there are seven men to each boat, the number of men 
engaged is about 4200. 

The sponge fishing grounds are on the coast of Candia, 
Syria, and Barbary. The average depth at which sponges 
are found is 30 fathoms ; those of an inferior quality are 
found at lesser depths. The sponge fishing-boats in the 
island of Calmynos amount to nearly 260, employing 1600 
men and boys. These boats, called " scafi," are on an average 
six tons each, carrying from six to seven, and sometimes 
eight men, of whom two are rowers. 

The proceeds from the sponge obtained are divided into 
shares, the divers receiving a whole share, and the rowers 
two-thirds of a share. A good diver will make from eight 
to ten dives during the day. 

The sponge is covered with a thin, tough, black cuticle, 
inside of which there is a white liquid like milk, and of the 
same consistence. The sponge in this state presents a very 
different appearance to what it does when freed from these 
extraneous substances. The annual value of the sponges 
taken by the Calymniotes amounts to about £2^00. The 
finest are sent to Great Britain ; the comm.on and coarser to 
France, Austria, and Constantinople. 

The sponge fishery of Turkey has made a great advance 
by the introduction of diving apparatus. The quality fished 
in the Sea of Marmora is of second-rate quality, and is 
shipped to England, and a part to Trieste and Germany. 

The following shows the value in round numbers of the 
sponges sold at Rhodes in 1861 : — Fine, ^^4 1,000; common, 
;^63,ooo ; coarse, £yooo ] total, 11,000. Part of the 
sponges fished in the autumn of i860 were sold in the 
early part of 1861, at 450 piastres per oke for fine, 120 for 
common, and 60 for coarse, which are the highest ever 
reached for the fine and coarse qualities. Towards the 



sponge Fisheries of the Medite7'ranea7i, 187 

Fig. 8. 




Syrian sponge fishers. 



1 88 The Comme7'cial Products of the Sea. 

end of the year, the prices declined nearly one-fourth. The 
crop of 1 86 1 was abundant ; the proportion of fine sponges 
was larger, and of a better quality than in former years. 
The divers say that the same quantity are not now found 
as ten years ago, so it must be inferred that they do not 
grow as fast as they are fished. The amount sent to each 
country was in the following proportion, out of 36 parts : — 
Great Britain, 13; France, Austria, 5 J ; and Con- 

stantinople, 2 ; total, 36. In 1867 30 cwt, valued at £jQO, 
were exported from Turkey. 

The total value of the sponges obtained on the coasts 
of Syria is ^20,000 to ;^2 5,000, which seems to be about 
the average of past years. The production, however, 
appears to be falling off through excessive fishing. Some 
250 to 300 boats are at present employed in this industry, 
manned by 1200 to 1500 mxcn. The centres of production 
are Tripoli and Batronn on the coast of Mount Lebanon, 
in the neighbourhood of which the best qualities are found. 
The fishing-boats, from 18 to 30 feet long, are each manned 
by a crew of four or five men, one of whom is especially 
engaged for the purpose of directing, while the rest are 
divers. The diver, naked of course, with an open net 
round his waist for holding the sponges, seizes with both 
hands an oblong white stone, to which is attached a 
rope, and plunges overboard. On arriving at the bottom, 
the stone is deposited at his feet, and the man, keeping 
hold of the rope with one hand, grasps and tears off with 
the other the sponges within reach, which he deposits in 
his net. He then, by a series of jerks to the rope, gives 
the signal to those above, and is drawn up. No knife, 
spear, or instrument of any kind is used. The depth to 
which the diver descends varies from 5 to 30 fathoms, 
each equal to an ordinary man's height. 



sponge Fisheries of the Medit£7^ranean. 189 

Although marked by a great variety of quahty and 
size, sponges may be generally classified as the fine, white, 
bell-shaped " toilet sponge ; " the large reddish variety, 
known as " eponge de venise " or " bath sponge ; " and the 
coarse red sponge, used for household purposes, cleaning, 
etc. France takes the bulk of the finest qualities, while 
the reddish and common sponges are sent to Germany 
and England. 

The fisheries of the Lebanon employ 120 boats, manned 
by 550 men. The annual yield varies in value between 
£\ooo and £6^00. 

The value of sponges directly exported from the 
Sporades is about ;^90,ooo additional. Formerly, almost 
the whole quantity of sponges was sent from the islands 
of the Sporades to Rhodes for transhipment to Europe ; 
but since the English steamers call at those islands, 
sponges are sent direct. 

On the coasts between the latitudes 32° 20' and 33° 20', 
the qualities of soft and hard, fine and venise sponges, are 
mixed and fished for together, at about the same depth, 
from 4 to 15 fathoms. Beyond this depth the venise 
sponge, which is mixed with the other two kinds only in 
the proportion of about one-third, is more abundant, and 
constitutes the bulk of the fishery. At a depth of 20 to 30 
fathoms, this sponge, of a large size, is almost exclusively 
found. The prices paid have been — for bath or common 
sponges, according to quality, from 40 to 60 piastres per 
oke (equal to 2| lbs.); fine sponges, from 120 to 200 
piastres. 

The sponges fished at Mandruha, on the coast of Africa, 
are always sold by the piece. The prices paid for them have 
been — bath sponges, from one and a half to four piastres 
a piece ; fine sponges, from four to eight piastres a piece ; 



1 90 The Commercial Prodtids of the Sea. 

zimocca, or coarse sponges, from 15 to 18 paras apiece. 
In sponge transactions, the rate of the Turkish pound is 
115 piastres; and of the pound sterling, 125 piastres. 
They still continue to send sanded sponges to England. 

The sponges fished by diving apparatuses are not so 
good as those fished by neck-divers, these last going to 
deeper waters ; the sponges there being of a superior 
quality. They therefore always cost from 15 to 20 per cent, 
more than the former ones. Although the diving appa- 
ratuses secure a more abundant crop, they are getting 
unpopular, owing to the many accidents which are to be 
deplored every season, the divers using them exceeding 
the depth prescribed. 

The total number of diving apparatuses imported from 
France and Great Britain during the last 10 or 12 years is 
about 250, but not more than no are actually at work. 
The gears for these machines, which are annually renevv^ed, 
are generally imported from England. The total number 
of sponge fishing-boats (including also those with diving 
apparatuses) belonging to Rhodes and the Sporades 
Islands, is about 700, employing 6000 men. During the 
year 1874, only 512 boats were sent to this fishery, of 
which 96 were supplied with diving apparatuses. 

The sponge fishery in Tunis is most active in the 
months of December, January, and February, as, during 
the other seasons, the spot where the sponges are found is 
covered with dense masses of seaweed. The tempests of 
November and December clear away the latter, and allow 
the sponges to be seen. The fishery has, however, two 
seasons — one commencing in March and finishing in 
November ; the other occupying the rest of the year. In 
the summer season the production is small, because diving 
apparatus is then necessary, and can only be employed 



sponge Fisheries of the Mediterranean. 191 

where there is a rocky or other firm bottom ; but the Arabs 
search along the coasts, feehng for the sponges with their 
feet beneath the masses of tangled weeds. The sponges 
which they find are generally of an inferior kind, as they 
cannot go into any depth of water. The success of the 
work of sponge-getting depends upon the sea being calm. 
There are not more than 40 or 50 days during the winter 
season which are favourable. 

The Arabs who inhabit the coasts, the Greeks, and 
principally those of Kranidi, near Nauplia, and the Sicilians, 
all engage in the sponge fishing, but the Greeks are con- 
sidered the most adroit and the Arabs the least so. 

The gathering is performed by means of a trident, or 
" arth^' a kind of dredge, similar to that used for taking 
oysters. The Arabs employ boats called " sandah," with 
crews of four to seven persons, one of whom only uses the 
harpoon. As soon as this man sees a sponge the boat is 
brought to a stand ; the work is carried on to the depth 
of 15 to 35 feet. The Greeks, although very expert divers, 
also use the harpoon, but they employ small and very light 
boats, carrying only the harpooner and the sculler. The 
former explores the bottom of the sea by means of a 
kind of telescope — a tin tube about 14 inches in diameter 
and 20 inches long, with a thick glass at the lower end. 
The object of this tube is to get rid of the surface 
oscillations and allow the fisherman to see the bottom. 
The Greeks exhibit sometimes extraordinary dexterity 
in getting sponges from a depth of 60 feet with short 
harpoons ; they hold in their hands three or four harpoons, 
which they throw with such extraordinary rapidity and 
precision, that scarcely has one harpoon disappeared be- 
neath the water, when the second strikes its upper end 
and adds to the force of the propulsion ; the third is in 



192 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

the same way struck into the second, and so on. Neither 
the Arabs nor the' Sicilians avail themselves of either 
of the above methods of using the harpoon or of the wave 
tube. 

The sponge fishery is considered to be capable of great 
development, and the danger of exhausting the supply is 
not great, as a new sponge is said to take the place of one 
removed within twelve months. 

The following table shows the imports of Turkey and 
Mediterranean sponges into the United Kingdom for a 



series of years : — 








lbs. 


V alue. 


1851 ... 


... 189,828 ... 




1852 ... 


... 160,621 ... 




1853 - 


... 205,924 ... 




1854 ... 


... 224,787 ... 


... ;^7o,246 


1855 ... 


339.985 


... 140,164 


1856 ... 


... 313,287 ... 


... 172,308 


1857 ... 


... 318,676 ... 


... 164,650 


1858 ... 


... 287,681 ... 


... 157,751 


1859 ... 


... 345.818 ... 


218,161 


i860 ... 


... 411,111 ... 


... 270,410 


1861 ... 


... 340,506 ... 


... 108,782 


1862 ... 


... 348,924 ••• 


••• 74,833 


1863 ... 


... 377,111 ... 


... 69,074 


1864 ... 


... 431,906 ... 


... 53,168 


1866 ... 


... 321,199 ••• 


... 41,477 


1867 ... 


... 320,032 ... 


... 31,415 


1868 ... 


... 356,131 ••• 


... 61,817 


1869 ... 


... 660,685 ... 


... 85,751 


1870 ... 


■ .. 453,819 ... 


... 113,384 



The imports have not been officially recorded since. 

The supplies are received principally through the four 
channels of France, Greece, Turkey proper, Italy, and 
sometimes from Malta and Egypt. 

The sponges shipped are of three qualities — fine, common, 
and coarse. In the fine qualities there is but one in ten of 
the first or superior quality ; the rest are of a second or 



sponge Fisheries of the Mediterranean. 193 



inferior fine quality. Of the common sponges there is one 
in four of a first quality ; the rest are of a second or 
common quality. Of the coarse, one-half are of a first 
quality, and the other half of a second quality. Thus, 
it will be seen that the fine, common, and coarse kinds 
of sponges may be divided into two qualities each. 

The total imports of sponge into Great Britain in 1840 
were 78,500 lbs. ; in 1841, 58,931 lbs. ; in 1855, 471,871 lbs. 
The quantity and value of the imports of sponge into 
the United Kingdom since have been as follows : — 





Quantity, 
lbs. 

... 544,882 ... 


Computed value. 


1862 ... 


... ;^IOO,204 


1863 ... 


••• 474,748 ... 


77,907 


1864 ... 


... 540,172 ... 


60,278 


1865 ... 


... 694,128 ... 


103,780 


1866 ... 


... 895,369 ... 


96,768 


1867 ... 


... 980,259 ... 


86,201 


1868 ... 


... 997,447 - 


... 119,917 


1869 ... 


... 1,221,673 ••• 


... 156,965 


1870 ... 


... 837,159 ... 


160,162 



No return published since. 

The following is the French classification of commer- 
cial sponges : — 

Fine soft Syrian. 

Archipelago. 
Fine hard, of Syria, known as Chimousse. 
Yellow sponge of Syria, known as fine venise. 

of the Archipelago, known as common venise. 
Hen sponge of Barbary. 
Brown sponge of Barbary, called Marseilles. 
Salonica sponge. 

Lastly, the Bahamas and American sponges, which are divided into fine and 
common. Their tissue is loose, without elasticity, and hence they are 
easily torn. They, sell at a low price. 

In the ten years ending i860, the sale of sponge in 

o 



194 Commercial P^^odttds of the Sea. 

France was 2,000,000 kilogrammes, of the value of 
10,600,000 francs (;^424,ooo). The consumption is there- 
fore about 150,000 kilogrammes per annum. There was 
imported into France in 1875 246,666 kilogrammes of 

Fig. 9. 




Silicious sponges. I. Euplectella aspcrgilhim ; 2. Holtenia carpenteiia. 

sponge, of which 93,324 kilogrammes were re-exported. 
In 1876 the imports reached 257,878 kilogrammes, and the 
exports were 89,600 kilogrammes. 

Silicioits Sponges. — Sponges are not confined to recent 



sponge Fisheries of the Mediterranean, 195 

seas, though the commercial ones are not known to have 
existed earher, because the keratose matter furnishes 
hardly favourable conditions for petrifaction. In the oolite 
and chalk formations, sponges containing flinty spicules 
were very abundant ; and in most of the earlier formations, 
large sponges containing calcareous spicules abounded. 
These very closely resemble corals, and have been mistaken 
for them by some of our best geologists. The spiculse or 
needle-shaped particles, which are often microscopic in size, 
are not thrown in without order, but are arranged to support 
the skeleton. The horny sponges do not secrete or deposit 
spicules, but these are sometimes found within the skeleton 
in broken and disordered form, which show they were 
taken in from without. 

The quantity of silica which constitutes the structure of 
sponges is remarkable. It generally occurs in the form of 
spiculae in considerable quantities, imbedded in the sub- 
stance or body of the sponge. One of the rarest and most 
beautiful of the silicious sponges is the Etiplectella speciosa, 
found at the Philippine Islands. It is of cornucopia shape, 
and has a horny, skeleton-like network, composed of large 
silicious fibres running from the base to the head, sur- 
rounded by small fibres forming square, open meshes, 
resembling a net or basket work. It ranges in height from 
6 to over 1 5 inches. At the lower extremity, or root, it 
averages about an inch in thickness, but its size gradually 
increases as it approaches the top, where often it is two 
inches wide. It is surmounted by a ridge about a quarter 
of an inch wide, and is closed at the larger extremity by a 
delicate open lacework of fibres, possessing no particular 
pattern. It is on this light and pretty structure that the 
fibrous, gelatinous substance rests, resembling in texture 
the common sponge, but in this instance disposed in an 



196 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



Fig. 10. 




Eupledella speciosa. 

irregular, foliated pattern, over which the usual film of the 
sponge is laid during life.* 

* Bryce M. Wright in "The American Naturalist." 



sponge Fisheries of the Mediterranean. 197 



At one time this sponge was so rare that specimens 
fetched enormous prices ; now, by the progress of com- 
merce, it has become more common, and specimens of great 
beauty may be had for a few shillings. 



198 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER V. 

OILS FROM MARINE MAMMALS. 

The seal fishery — Seal oil — Yield of oil from blubber — Seal-skins — The fur 
seal — The walrus — The whale fishery — Imports of train oil or blubber, 
spermaceti, and whalebone — Porpoise oil — Dugong oil. 

Oils from the Mam^nals. — One of the articles contributed 
by marine animals to the wants of industry is oil, which is 
largely obtained both from mammals and fishes. The 
aggregate value of the trade in these in the United King- 
dom alone exceeds ;^ 1,000,000 sterling a year. Some of 
these oleaginous substances are employed as food by man, 
some in manufactures, and others in medicine. 

Oil for commercial purposes is obtained in greater or 
less quantities from numerous inhabitants of the seas — 
from the marine mammals, the right and spermaceti 
whale, the seal, sea-elephant, dugong, porpoise, etc. ; from 
the shark, sunfish, cod, herring, and numerous small fish, 
which are especially sought for the oil they yield. 

The great trade in animal oils and fatty substances 
indicates the care with which oily matters, rich in carbon 
and hydrogen, are sought in all countries, supplying as they 
do a great number of wants in countries the most civilized, as 
well as among people still in their primitive state. We 
know that fish oils are beneficial in consumptive cases, as 



Oils from Marine Mammals. 



199 



with cod-liver oil and that obtained from the dugong ; but 
they might be often used with advantage for inunction, 
where they are not easily retained on the stomach. 

Dr. T. Thompson has pointed out the medicinal value 
of various animal oils besides cod-liver oil, such as sperm 
and seal oil ; and the result of his observations was a con- 
viction that fish oils generally resembled one another in 
their remedial properties, although differing in their aptitude 
for digestive assimilation in the human stomach. He tried 
neat's-foot oil, an animal oil obtained from a soft, solid fat 
found between the parchment and the leather skin of 
animals ; also shark-liver oil, and an oil obtained from a 
species of fish abounding on the Malabar coast ; and these 
trials were frequently attended with encouraging results. 

The practice of daily inunction is common in many 
warm countries, and serves to soften the skin and keep the 
body in health. In tropical regions, vegetable oils are 
chiefly used ; but the New Zealanders and some others use 
shark oil. The Esquimaux and Greenlanders imbibe large 
quantities of train, seal, and various fish oils ; whilst the 
natives about the large rivers and coasts of Brazil use turtle 
oil, and fat obtained from the alligator and crocodile. The 
natives of many parts of India use shark oil and that from 
the liver of the sword-fish in anointing their skin. 

Those who are employed in the woollen trade, and in 
soap, candle, and other factories, where oil and fats are 
largely used, enjoy a comparative immunity from scrofula 
and phthisis. Sailors believe a whaling voyage to be a cure 
for consumption ; and probably the quantity of oil drunk 
and taken into the skin may have its beneficial effect upon 
the system. 

The Seal Fishery. — After the cod fishery, the seal 
fishery is the most profitable branch of trade in New- 



200 The Comme7xial Prodttds of the Sea. 



foundland. More than 350 vessels are engaged in it. The 
seals whelp their young in January and February on the 
ice field of Labrador ; this ice is floated southwards by 
the ocean currents, and is always to be found on the coast 
of Newfoundland after the middle of March. The take of 
seals varies ; in some years the export of skins being under 
200,000, in others exceeding 450,000. The value of the 
seal oil shipped ranges from ;^ 160,000 to ;^"200,ooo. The 
yield of oil is about 11 gallons from one cwt. of blubber. 



Fig. II. 




Phoca Groenlandica. 

Seal oil and cod oil are now two of the most important, 
whale oil having much declined in quantity, owing to the 
fishery being less earnestly prosecuted ; but there are very 
many fish oils, extracted in different quarters, which have 
a local and general use, such as shark oil, herring oil, men- 
haden oil, etc. . 

Seal Oil. — There are three classifications of seal oil : 
that which drains spontaneously by the pressure of the 
layers of the skins one over the other ; that which is pre- 
pared by submitting the fat to the action of steam in 
hermetically closed boilers ; and that which is obtained from 
the residual mass, submitted to a high pressure. 



Oils fi^om Mari7ie Mammals. 201 



At St. John's, Newfoundland, the head-quarters of the 
seaHng trade, the blubber used to be generally put into 
wooden cribs, beneath which were wooden pans to catch the 
oil. No artificial heat was used in this process. The oil 
which runs for the first two or three months is termed pale 
seal oil, and forms 50 to 70 per cent, of the whole quantity. 
As putrefaction takes place, the oil becomes darker and 
more offensive. The putrescent refuse and the clippings of 
the pelts, or skins, yield further quantities of oil by boiling 
(boiled seal oil). This process is now very generally re- 
placed by steam apparatus. A uniform and much better 
quality of oil is thus obtained, free from the horrible odour 
of that prepared by the old method, and the time required 
for rendering out the oil is only twelve hours, instead of six 
months. A few drops of nitric ether is said to destroy the 
disagreeable smell of rancid oil, and to prevent oil be- 
coming rancid. When the oil is heated to separate the 
alcohol, it becomes clear and bright, even when it was 
before turbid. 

In Russia a quantity of seal oil is obtained annually in 
the White and Caspian Seas. The mode of preparation is 
very simple. After removing the layer of blubber which 
adheres to the skin, it is exposed in casks or vats to the heat 
of the sun, which dissolves out the oil of first quality. The 
residue is heated in cauldrons with a little water. In one 
or two factories the preparation of the oil on a large scale 
is carried on by steam. The seals killed in autumn and 
winter have the oil rendered out forthwith, without the 
necessity of first salting the skins ; but in the hot seasons 
this step is necessary, and a great pit is prepared, capable 
of holding 50,000 skins. 

Repeated and careful experiments in rendering out seal 
blubber show the relative produce of pure oil obtained from 



202 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



the different species to be as follows for one barrel of 
blubber, from seals in prime condition : — 





Barrels of fat. 


Oil. 


Residue. 




lbs. 


Galls. 


lbs. 


Old harp [Pkoca Groenlandicd) 


288 


224 


73 


Young harp 


225 


22 


52 


Young hood {Stemmaiopus cristatus) ... 


230 


21 


80 


Beadlemer (a year-old hood) 


246 




103 



In 1850 the export of seal oil from Newfoundland was 
6200 tuns, valued at;^i8o,ooo; in i860 it was 5565 tuns, 
valued at i^i 69,975 ; in 1870 it was 4982 tuns, valued at 

76,472 ; and in 1875, 4837 tuns, valued at ^^132,116. 

The total value of the oil shipped from Newfoundland 



has been as below : — 

1870. 1875. 

Cod oil ... ... ^107,813 ... ... ;^ioi,420 

refined ... 21,068 ... ... 3,842 

Seal oil ... ... 176,472 ... ... 132,116 

;^305,353 ^237,378 



Thirty small sloops and steam vessels were employed 
on the bank and Spitzbergen fisheries in 1873 ; the catch 
resulted in 130,000 seals, 350 sea-horses or walruses, and 
6363 barrels of liver, estimated together at a value of 
;^99,669. 

Seal-skins. — The seal fishery is chiefly prosecuted from 
Newfoundland. It commences in March, and rarely lasts 
longer than one or two months. There are from 150 to 
200 decked vessels employed in it. These will take pro- 
bably 2000 each, but as many as 8000 have been taken 
on a single trip, and often two or three voyages are made in 
one season. 

The quantity of seal-skins received in this country 
varies; it has been as low as 160,000, and as high as 



Oils from Marine Mammals. 203 

876,000. In the last quarter of a century the total number 
received has been nearly 23,000,000, thus summarized in 
periods of nine years ending — 

1848 4,884,775 

1857 ... ... ... ... 6,429,820 

1866 ... ... ... ... 4,763,132 

1875 6,744,447 

22,822,174 

Fig. 12. 




Phoca oceanica. 



The fur seal-skin of commerce is obtained from different 
animals to those of the hair seals. One association, the 
Alaska Company, contributes 100,000 of these skins a year, 
having a monopoly by a contract with the American 
Government. 



204 The Commercial* Products of the Sea. 

Having fully described and figured the marine mam- 
malia of any commercial value in another work,* I would 
refer those desirous of further details to it. 

The walrus {Trichecus rosmai'us) furnishes some eco- 
nomic products, in its flesh, its skin, its teeth, and the oil 
obtained from the blubber. The inhabitants of the 
Arctic regions esteem its flesh. The hide, when cut into 
shreds and plaited into cordage, forms lines used in cap- 

FiG. 13. 




Walrus. 



turing the whale. It has also been successfully used 
for belting and for covering skin-boats. The quantity of 
walrus tusks obtained in Alaska averages 100,000 lbs. in 
weight. The teeth, which weigh about four pounds the 
pair, used to be in great demand by dentists. Among the 
Chinese this dentine is employed for those various uses to 
which they turn ivory so skilfully. Walrus oil is a well- 
known article of commerce. 

The Whale Fishery. — Narratives and accounts have so 
frequently and graphically been written, that it is not 

* "Animal Products: their Preparation, Commercial Uses, and Value." 
Chapman and Hall, 1877. 



Oils from Marine Mammals, 205 



necessary to enter into any lengthened detail here of the 
prosecution of this fishery, which has largely declined, 
having been much abandoned, as compared with former 
years, both by the English and Americans. The French 
have given it up altogether. 

A quarter of a century ago, 730 ships, registering 
233,189 tons, were employed in the American whale fishery ; 
now there are less than 170 vessels, registering 40,000 tons, 
employed in whaling. 

The extensive use of gas, as well as the employment 
of mineral and vegetable oils, for illuminating purposes, 
has in a great degree superseded the demand for whale oil 
that existed half a century ago. Our annual average im- 
ports of train oil, it will be seen, keep pretty steady. 



Imports into the United Kingdom.. 





Train oil 


or blubber. 


Spermaceti 


or head matter. 




Tuns. 


Value. 


-Tuns. 


Value. 


1867 


11,901 


;^478,723 


3226 


^373,367 


1868 


11,203 


415,400 


1945 


185,960 


1869 


10,146 


399,536 


4107 


387,171 


1870 


14,721 


549,213 


4069 


341,340 


I87I 


19,291 


636, 70b 


5388 


451,028 


1872 




522,056 


3715 


333,534 


1873 


15,069 


514,493 


2817 


252,434 


1874 


13,896 


454,729 


3155 


296,630 


1875 


14,890 


489,817 


4469 


427,884 


1876 


1 3,- 466 


445,262 


3218 


230,359 



The blubber on a fat whale is sometimes, in its thickest 
parts, from 15 to 20 inches thick, though usually not more 
than a foot ; it is of a coarse texture, and much harder 
than pork. So very full of oil is it, that a cask closely 
packed with the clean raw fat of the whale will not contain 
the oil boiled from it and the scraps that are left besides. 



r 

2p6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

Whalebone, as it is erroneously termed, is another 
valuable product of this fishery. 



Fig. 14. 




I. Greenland or right whale ; 2. Spermaceti whale. 

The whale-fins imported into the United Kingdom in 
the last ten years have been as follows : — 





Cwts. 


Value. 


i?67 


... 2740 ... 


... ^51,286 


1868 .. 


... 3800 ... 


... 67,876 


1869 ... 


... 1680 ... 


•■• 34,958 


1870 ... 


... 4260 ... 


... 79,482 


1871 


... 2853 ... 


... 45,178 


1872 


... 2831 ... 


••• 51,558 


1873 - 


... 3544 ... 


... 64,618 


1874 ... 


... 29II ... 


... 54,920 


1875 ... 


... 1871 ... 


42,240 


1876 ... 


... 1799 ... 


... 47,144 



A flourishing establishment has grown up in the 
vicinity of the small town of Vadso, at the entrance of the 
Waranger Fiord, Norway, under the auspices of a Mr. Foyn, 



Oils from Marine Mammals. 



207 



of Tonsberg, the patentee of an improved kind of harpoon 
employed in the whale fishery. It consists of a harpoon 
with two movable barbs like the claws of an anchor, one on 
each side. The harpoon is projected from a swivel gun 
fixed on the bows of the vessel. The claws or barbs lie flat 
against the stem while in the gun, and during its pro- 
gress through the air and entrance into the body of the 
fish ; but no sooner is the line attached to the harpoon 
hauled upon, or the fish takes a start, than the claws or 
barbs expand and become fixed at an angle of 45° on each 
side, which effectually precludes the possibility of the har- 
poon being withdrawn from the body of the fish. In 
addition to this, a capsule containing an explosive sub- 
stance is concealed in the harpoon, which by another 
ingenious contrivance explodes, causing instant death. 
The animal is then towed by the steamer to the factory, 
where the usual flenching process commences ; and as 
soon as completed, the residue of the huge animal is con- 
verted into artificial manure (guano), by which the whole 
carcase becomes utilized. Mr. Foyn employs two small 
steamers, and in 1873 caught 38 whales. From the 
effective means employed, it appears that he never loses 
a whale after the harpoon has once entered the carcase, 
the struggle seldom lasting above a few minutes after 
the fish is struck before death ensues. The factory is 
situated at the entrance to the Waranger Fiord, where the 
process of utilization commences. This species differs from 
the Greenland whale {Balcenopterd), and when full grown 
exceeds it in size, as they have been caught 100 feet in 
length, and the young when cast have been known to 
reach 20 feet. In 1874 Mr. Foyn is reported to have 
caught 50 whales, which were estimated to be worth from 
;^I50 sterHng each. 



2o8 The Com7nercial Products of the Sea. 

Porpoise Oil. — A fishery for the porpoise {Delphinus 
phoccBiid) is carried on off the coasts of Trebizond ; it is 

Fig. 15. 




Black porpoise [Fhoccsna vulgaris). 



taken in nets, and also shot. This fishery yields upwards 
of 700,000 lbs. of oil per annum, a portion of which is con- 
sumed by the lower classes for lighting, and the rest finds a 
market in Constantinople. Porpoises are also caught in 
large numbers in the Little Belt, Denmark, where 1 500 to 
2000 are frequently obtained. 

The extraction of the oil of the white whale {Beluga 



Fig. 16. 




Grampus {Phorcena orca). 



catodoii) and of the black porpoise constitutes an important 
industry in the district of Quebec, on the St. Lawrence 



Oils fro7n Marine Mammals. 209 



river. This oil is inodorous, and gives a brilliant light. It 
is said to be superior to any other for lighthouses, because 
it does not coagulate even in the most intense cold, and 
its durability renders it invaluable for greasing leather and 
oiling machinery, which it preserves from injury by friction. 

In 1874 fish oil to the value of £Z6f)Q0 was exported 
from Canada. 

Diigong Oil. — An animal oil, having medicinal pro- 
perties, was a few years ago added to the list of commercial 
products. It is obtained from the blubber of the dugong of 
Australia {Halicore Aitstralis), a native of the shores of 
Queensland and the north-west coast of Australia. It was 
recommended as a new therapeutic agent, and as a substi- 
tute for cod-liver oil. The distinction between them is 
that the dugong oil contains no iodine ; it is said, however, 
to possess all the advantages of the cod-liver oil without its 
unpleasant smell. No large supply of this oil could, how- 
ever, be obtained, and from having arrived frequently much 
adulterated it lost any reputation it may have merited. 

The best known of this family is the Manatits Ameri- 
caitus, Cuv., which frequents the mouths of rivers, and 
quiet, secluded bays and inlets, in the islands of the West 
Indies and the coasts of Guinea and Brazil. It is said to 
attain nearly 20 feet in length, and differs from the dugong 
in having no canines or incisors. An old author. Dr. R. 
Brookes, in his "Natural History," speaking of it says, 
" The fat which lies between the cuticle and the skin, Avhen 
exposed to the sun, has a fine smell and taste, and far 
exceeds the fat of any sea animal. It has this peculiar 
property, that the heat of the sun will not spoil it, nor 
make it grow rancid. The taste is like the oil of sweet 
almonds, and it will serve very well in all cases instead of 
butter. Any quantity may be taken inwardly with safety, 

p 



2IO The Com7nercial Products of the Sea. 

for it has no other effect than keeping the body open. The 
fat of the tail is of a harder consistence, and when boiled is 
more delicate than the other." The flesh of the manatus 
is highly esteemed as food in all countries the shores of 
which it frequents. It is particularly abundant in the 



Fig. 17. 




Z 

I. Halicore Austrahs ; 2. Manatus Americanus. 



lakes of the Amazon. Wallace, in his Travels up that 
river, describes it. Beneath the skin," he says, " is a layer 
of fat of a greater or less thickness, generally about an inch, 
which is boiled down to make an oil used for lighting and 
cooking. Each animal yields from 5 to 25 gallons of oil." 



Oils fro7n Marine Mammals. 



211 



Edwards, in his "Voyage up the River Amazon," speaks 
of them, and says, not unfrequently they are taken eight 
feet in length. This is said to be a distinct species from 
the Manatus of the Gulf of Mexico. 



212 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER VI. 

FISH OILS AND THE FISHERIES CONNECTED THEREWITH. 

Definition of fish oil — Cod oil — Cod-liver oil — Exports from Newfoundland — 
Mode of preparation — Exports from Norway — From Iceland — Fish oils 
in Russia — Indian fish oils — Fishes from which obtained — Tunny oil — 
Herring oil — Oolachan oil — Menhaden oil — Mode of preparation and 
statistics. 

The term fish oil is a very vague one, from its being 
generally applied to oil of all kinds, obtained both from 
marine mammals and fishes. Train oil from the whale is 
frequently so termed. Shark oil, and the oil expressed or 
obtained by heat from various kinds of fish, large and 
small, is very much mixed as sent into commerce, and it 
is scarcely possible, unless from a few special districts and 
large factories, to know what is the true source of the fish 
oil purchased. There are some few large fisheries, such as 
the cod, herring, pilchard, sardine, menhaden, etc., where 
attention is given to the preparation of the oil. 

Cod Oil. — The oil obtained from the cod forms a con- 
siderable item in the fishing business. About one hogs- 
head of oil is produced from every five tons of fish. The 
quantity of oil extracted fromx cod livers in Newfoundland 
is about 1,250,000 gallons, valued at ;^200,ooo. Nearly all 



Fish Oils and the Fisheries connected therewith. 2 1 3 

is sent to England, as the American import duty is so high- 
The value of the crude cod oil shipped from Newfound- 
land amounts to about 110,000, and of the refined cod oil 
from ^10,000 to 1 5,000. The export of cod oil from the 
French Newfoundland fisheries in the five years ending 
1 87 1 averaged 560,000 kilogrammes. In 1876, 2,819,000 
kilogrammes of fish oil were imported into Havre. 

The medicinal qualities of cod-liver oil have long been 
fully proved, and its manufacture has been a great 
source of wealth to the fishing colony of Newfoundland. 
Like all good things, however, it is easily imitated. The 
common cod oil, made by the putrifying process, has often 
been refined by animal charcoal, filtered so as to deprive it 
of all bad smell (the iodine and all other medicinal qualities 
having passed away by putrefaction in the manufacture), 
and it is then palmed off by dishonest dealers as the 
genuine article. 

The cod livers reserved for the preparation of medicinal 
oil are all very carefully examined, and those that are poor, 
have sustained injury, or have portions of gall adhering, are 
removed. The selected livers are then thoroughly washed 
and afterwards dried. The fishermen — many of whom make 
the oil themselves, or sell to larger makers — put these pre- 
pared livers immediately into open barrels, where the oil 
slowly exudes, and, rising to the top, is removed with large 
spoons. It is, when quite cold, filtered three or four times 
through bibulous paper, and the preparation is complete. 
Nothing more remains but to pour it into tin cans or oak 
barrels, and it is ready for market. The oil is of a straw 
yellow, with scarcely any smell or taste, and is known as 
natural medicinal oil. 

In the mean time other fishermen, having carefully 
sorted, washed, and dried the livers, place them in a pot 



2 14 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

of tinned sheet iron. This tinned pot is then put into a 
larger iron pot, half full of water, which on becoming 
heated causes the livers immediately to begin to give out 
their oil. Some makers introduce steam from a boiler 
between the two pots, and others let the steam out directly 
on the livers. The first yield by these methods of regu- 
lated heat is removed by spoons, filtered when cold, and 
reserved for medicinal use under the names of " steam- 
boiled medicinal " and " ordinary bright." The after yield 
is used in medicine, though somewhat redder; it is called 
" bright brown." Finally, those portions of' liver that 
will not dissolve by themselves or by a mild heat are 
roughly boiled down to yield "dark brown," or tanner's 
oil, the black residuum being used with other fish refuse for 
manure. 

There is a great difi"erence between one year and 
another in the quantity of oil the cod's liver yields. One 
year it may require 600 livers to make a barrel of oil ; in 
others, 200 are sufficient. 

In 1840 42,737 barrels of cod and shark oil were sent 
away from Norway. In 1848 1,296,572 gallons of cod oil 
were shipped, against only 65,600 in 1846. 

From the coast of Norway the average export of fish 
oil from 1851 to 1855 was 52,900 tuns, and from 1856 to 
i860, 59,617 tuns per annum ; from 1861 to 1866, 7,750,000 
litres per annum. In 1877 130,600 barrels of cod-liver 
oil were shipped, valued at ^3.86,600. The catch of each 
boat yields from 8 to 20 barrels of liver. Fresh livers, 
for medicinal oil, fetch from 27^". to 31^. per barrel; old 
livers, from 22^". to 26^. At the early part of the season 
the fish are rich in liver, so that from 250 to 300 of the 
net-caught fish yield a barrel of liver, while 50 to 100 more 
fish taken on lines would be required. As the season 



Fish Oils and the Fisheries connected therewith. 215 

advances the fish become perceptibly poorer, and it will 
take 400 to 450 to fill a barrel, while on the sea-board 
or western side of the Lofoden Islands from 600 to 700 
livers are requisite. 

In Sweden the residue from fish which have been salted 
are placed in large boilers, with waste herrings and others, 
a small quantity of water, and boiled or frequently 
steamed till the mass is dissolved; cold water is then intro- 
duced, and the oil floats at the top. This is skimmed off, 
clarified, and put into casks. It is of a brown colour, good 
for burning and other uses, but is said to be too fluid for 
the leather workers. 

The export of fish oils from Iceland (principally from 
the shark) amounted in 1867 to 4,186,560 lbs. An 
ordinary year's export, however, may be put down at 
about 2,700,000 lbs. 

One of the most important secondary products of the 
fisheries in Russia is the oil obtained, of which the 
quantity annually extracted represents a value exceeding 
i^7 1,500. This is either employed for medicinal use, for 
food, or for technical purposes. The medicinal oil is 
obtained from the liver of the cod, which is cut up when 
it is quite fresh, and subjected to the action of steam heat. 
The oil used for food is obtained from the fat surrounding 
the intestines of the sturgeon and the sandre {Leiicoperca 
smidre). It is washed, and in its fresh state melted in 
steam boilers. The oil or fat is chiefly used to add to the 
barrels of caviare, when the fish spawn is itself not suffi- 
ciently fat. At the seat of production fish oil is also 
largely used instead of vegetable oils. 

The common fish oil employed for technical uses in 
soap factories, tanneries, for lighting workshops, etc., is 
generally obtained by putrefaction, which decomposes the 



2 1 6 The Cormnercial Prodzicts of the Sea, 

membranes by which the fish fat is surrounded, and facili- 
tates its flow. The quantity of this oil made amounts 
to more than 100,000 pouds of 36 lbs. The oil used to 
be extracted not only from different parts of fish, but 
large quantities of small fish were also rendered down for 
their oil, especially the herrings of Astrakhan and many 
small species of Cyprinoides. The Governm.ent have of 
late years, however, put a stop to this practice of using 
small fry for the purpose, although the extraction of 
herring oil is permitted, because such enormous shoals of 
these can be obtained that it is impossible to salt them 
rapidly enough when they are fresh, hence the policy of 
turning them into oil. 

Not only are the livers of the codfish now used to 
extract oil from, but those of a number of other fish are 
sought for the purpose. Thus, the livers of the ray, the 
shark, and other Squalus are used in Iceland and Norway 
to extract an oil used for lighting and employed by 
curriers. In British Guiana an oil is obtained from the 
liver of the saw-fish {Pristis pectinatiis), which is used for 
lighting, and by the immigrants from India for anointing 
their bodies. A liver will yield from 1 5 to 20 gallons of oil. 
In Cambodia a fish called tussoc yields an oil remarkable 
for the proportion of stearine it contains. 

The quantity of fish oil obtained in India has much 
declined of late years. From Bombay, Sind, and Madras, 
in 1865, more than 3,750,000 lbs. were shipped. In Madras 
a good deal is still made. The Indian fish oils are mainly 
of two descriptions — medicinal and common. 

The natives prepare fish oils from the livers of sharks, 
skates, saw-fishes, rays, cat-fishes, oil sardines, and other 
kinds. The cat-fish livers have the most oil about Janu- 
ary, just before they are breeding. When the livers of 



Fish Oils and the Fisheries connected therewith, 2 r 7 

these fish alone are employed, they are heated up to 
130° in water, having about one and a half inches in 
depth over them. After 15 or 20 minutes, on being 
stirred, the froth rises, and the oil is skimmed off into large 
vessels, in which state it is sold as fish oil. There is no 
washing of the livers — fresh or semi-putrid, bloody or 
clean, they all are put in the pot, and the oil undergoes no 
straining. 

A large quantity of oil is also procured in India from 
sardines, and especially from the " louar " {Cltipea 
Neohowii), which is obtained from August to November, 
and then treated with boiling water to separate the oil 
which floats. Oil is also obtained from the livers of seve- 
ral Silttroids, but it is only during January and February 
that the organs are rich enough in fatty matter to be 
remunerative. The oil sardine seems to form the basis of 
all the oil obtained in India, for if not prepared from it, a 
great amount is from the sharks and other fish who live 
upon them. But the oil sardine is very capricious as to its 
arrival and departure. In 1864 the enormous quantity of 
148,206 cwts. of fish oil was shipped from the port of Cochin. 
In 1865 still larger exports were made. During the next five 
years scarcely anything was done in the trade; but in 1871 
the shoals of fish reappeared as abundantly as ever, and 
with these shoals the sharks returned. When the sardine 
fish first arrive they are lean, but by October, and some- 
times before, they become fat, and are well adapted for ex- 
tracting oil from. They are captured either by long float- 
nets, attached at either end to a boat, and by making a 
circuit the shoal is surrounded ; or else several canoes put off 
together, and pull to a shoal of these fish, which they take 
by cast-nets. A boat-load of sardines is computed to hold 
14,000. 



2x8 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

If Clupea lemuru, Bleeker, is the oil sardine, this fish 
would appear to be found in the Malay Archipelago. 

At Rangoon the average quantity of fish oil obtainable 
is over 77 tons per month ; but from November to May 
much larger quantities are procurable, it being only made 
at those times. It is used for lamps, and even for curries 
and frying fish ; and is obtained by boiling the intestines of 
some fish, the heads of others, and even whole fish, in an 
iron vessel with water in it, and the fatty substance as 
it floats is skimmed off into another pan, and boiled till 
the oil floats. It is said to be chiefly extracted from the 
A nab as scandens, Bar bus chola, Clupea palasah, and the 
intestines of the Ophiocephalus striatus. 

Tunny oil is extracted at Tunis from the head, back- 
bones, and refuse of the fish, which are placed in a large 
cauldron capable of holding 800 heads and 400 skeletons, 
and allowed to boil for 24 hours. The value of the tunny 
oil exported from Tunis in 1871 wasi^i6oo. 

Herring Oil. — For 1 5 years or more, herrings have been 
chiefly converted into oil in Russia, as there exists a preju- 
dice against eating them, under the belief that they are 
rabid, from the habit they have of turning round and 
round when they are spawning. About 100,000,000 of these 
fish are sacrificed annually for oil making. During the 
three or four weeks that the influx of fish continues, 
100,000 to 250,000 pouds (of 36 lbs.) of herring oil are 
made on the Volga,, according as the fishery is abundant 
and the fish more or less fat. The manufacture is carried 
on in this manner. The herrings are placed in open casks, 
containing about 1000^ and boiling water poured over the 
mass. Several days elapse before the fish enter into putrid 
fermentation, under the action of the air, the heat, and 
the hot water, and the oil separates. The whole is trans- 



Fish Oils and the Fisheines connected therewith. 2 1 9 

formed into a half-liquid, reddish paste, of a disgusting 
odour. But when once this putrid fermentation has com- 
menced a day suffices. The oil is then collected from the 
surface, and the mass thrown away. 

In Japan oil is extracted from the herrings which are 
caught on the coast of Yesso and the north of Nipon. The 
fisheries afford employment to thousands of the inhabitants, 
and are a source of immense profit to the Japanese, who 
farm them from the various daimios who are charged by 
the Japanese Government to protect this island. The prices 
vary from 48^". to 56^-. the picul (130 lbs.) In Kanagawa 
this fish oil is only about half that price. The principal 
market for fish oil is Hakodate. 

The oolachan or houlican {Thaleichthys pacificiis) — a fish 
somewhat larger than the sprat, very delicate, and of 
exquisite flavour — is found in abundance in the waters 
of British Columbia. It has been suggested that these fish 
might be cured in their own oil, or marinated after the 
manner of pilchards. They are so full of oil that it is 
said those caught in the north will burn like a candle. 
They enter the river in millions in the month of April, 
and their presence is at once made known by the seagulls, 
which wheel about the shoals, and dart among them for 
their prey, startling the usually still Fraser with their shrill 
cries. Their run lasts about three weeks, during which time 
they may be caught in countless myriads. 

Eaten fresh, they are most delicious, and are also 
excellent packed in salt or in a smoked form. The fish 
are caught with a pole about 10 feet in length, along which 
are arranged for five feet at the end nails like the teeth of 
a comb, only about an inch and a half apart. The comb 
is thrust smartly into the water, brought up with a back- 
ward sweep of the hand, and is rarely found without three 



2 20 The Commei^cial Products of the Sea. 

or four fish impaled on the nails. Frequently a canoe is 
filled with them in less than two hours by a couple of hands. 

By warming over a slow fire, or by heating in water, an 
oil is abundantly obtained, which is used for the same 
purposes as cod-liver oil, and with as much, if not greater, 
benefit. The oil when cold is of the consistence of thick 
cream, white in colour, with but little odour, and by no 
means unpleasant to the taste — in fact, those who use it 
very quickly acquire a partiality for it. The Indians make 
large quantities every season, and with them it supplies the 
place of butter. They cannot live without it, and it forms 
a great article of trade. When properly filtered, a fine 
pellucid oil, of a delicate, pale yellow colour, is obtained. 
Some of the northern natives allow the fish to become 
half putrid, and then express the oil by pressure upon 
boards. 

There is no doubt but that this oil might become of 
great economic value. It has been given medicinally, and 
will probably be found useful where cod-liver oil or other 
hydro-carbonaceous food is indicated. 

Menhaden Oil. — A fishery eagerly prosecuted for the oil 
obtained from the fish is the menhaden, on the Atlantic 
coast of the American States. Of the natural history of 
the fish not much is accurately known, but it is stated to be 
the Brevoordia menhaden (the Atom menhaden, Mitchell), 
and belongs to the herring family, differing from it in 
having a deep notch in the centre of the upper jaw. The 
fish is from 8 to 14 inches in length. It frequents the 
Atlantic seacoast, from Maine southward, but has not 
been noticed south of Cape Hatteras. It is sometimes sold 
in the markets as a table fish, but is usually considered 
too oily for food. Among the fishermen, however, it is 
esteemed a fine-flavoured fish. This is the source of the 



Fish Oils and the Fisheries connected therewith. 221 

American fish oil. Whale oil formerly sometimes bore the 
name, but has long ceased to do so ; and oils obtained 
from other fish have their own specific designation. 

The manufacture of oil from porgies or menhaden is 
an important industry in some of the American Atlantic 
States. The value of this fishery to the State of Maine is 
estimated at ;^'300,ooo. Forty steamers, 350 sailing vessels, 
and 500 boats, with an aggregate of 3500 men, are employed 
in this fishery, of which the coast of Maine is the largest 
and most profitable field, yielding more oil to the number 
of fish caught. Hence this interest is becoming a local 
one, and the number of factories is constantly increasing. 

At Portland nearly all the factories are located in 
Lincoln County. About 500 hands are employed, and the 
return of produce is to the value of ;^ioo,ooo. In the 
prosecution of the business there, a numerous fleet of small 
vessels and steamers are engaged, giving employment on 
the water and land to probably not less than 1000 men. 

The menhaden fish emerge from the warm waters of 
the Gulf Stream, and strike the coast of New Jersey in the 
month of April, reach the coast of Maine by May or June, 
and remain till October, when they return south. 

The fishery is carried on by the very smartest of yachts, 
not fancifully rigged or equipped, but the fastest sailers 
that can be built or bought. Some of the best boats in the 
yacht clubs find their way into this service. In size these 
vessels rarely exceed 20 or 30 tons ; say, 18 feet beam and 
50 feet over all. Built to stand the heavy gales on the 
coast, and well provided with light and heavy sails, they 
are able to cruise in weather that sends fancy boats into the 
harbours. The fishing yachts are manned with from eight 
to ten men each. To make the outfit complete, two sloops, 
called carry-ways, are attached to each yacht. These are 



22 2 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

smaller than the latter. Each of these will hold 70,000 
menhaden (16 or 17 tons). They are employed in taking 
the fish ashore after they are caught. The seines are made 
of strong cotton twine, and are 130 fathoms (780 feet) long, 
and from 80 to 100 feet deep. At the eastern end of 
Long Island, where the fishing is in deep water, the depth 
is even greater. Along the bottom of the seines run lines, 
arranged so that they can be drawn up like an old- 
fashioned purse — whence the name " purse-seines." The 
top of the seine is attached to buoys of cork or wood, and 
these, when the whole is thrown into the water, hold the 
upper edge at the surface, while the remainder hangs 
vertically beneath it. The seine is loaded into two boats, 
which also form a part of the outfit of the yacht, and are 
always with her when not engaged in taking fish. 

Thus furnished, the yachts start on a cruise in search of 
the fish, which go in immense schools. When a school is 
met with, it is necessary to drop the seine in front of them ; 
otherwise no fish would be taken, as they would swim 
away in front before the seine could be closed around them. 
The boats get ahead of the school, and pay out the seine 
as they separate. When the school is fairly in the seine, 
the boats come together and completely surround the fish. 
At the point where the boats first started, a heavy weight, 
called a "torn," is attached to the bottom of the seine, and to 
this weight, which rests upon the bottom, are fastened the 
lines which " purse " up the bottom, and prevent the fish 
from escaping below. When the bottom is drawn to- 
gether, the men haul the seine into the boats and shake the 
fish down into the " bunt," as the bag or purse formed by 
the seine is called. They then signal for the carry-ways, 
which come alongside. The fish are taken out of the seine 
into the carry- ways by means of dip-nets. If the school is 



Fish Oils and the Fisheries connected therewith, 223 

a large one, and most of the fish have been taken, the 
carry-ways are despatched at once to the factory on shore. 
If not quite loaded, they are generally retained until 
another school is taken, when they are sent off. 

When they reach the factory, they run alongside of the 
dock, and the fish are hoisted out into a car. When this is 
full, it is hauled by steam up the track leading from the 
dock to the cooking-vats and thrown into them. When 
a vat is full of fish, water from elevated tanks is let on 
until the fish are covered. Then steam is introduced and 
the whole is boiled. To properly cook a tankful of fish 
takes from 20 to 40 minutes, according to circumstances. 
In some factories the cooking is very short ; in others, it is 
preferred to take a longer time, so that the fish shall be 
equally cooked throughout the mass. At the conclusion of 
this process part of the oil has been boiled out, but by far 
the greater portion still remains in the fish ; and this must 
be removed by means of the hydraulic press. With one of 
these machines from 200,000 to 300,000 fish can be pressed 
in 10 hours. Two curbs are used with these presses, so 
that there is no delay in the work. 

As soon as the oil has ceased to run from the curb, the 
press is lowered, and the curb, containing the mass of 
scrap, is rolled away over small turn-tables and out on the 
track to the scrap-houses, where the two handles holding 
up the bottom are released, and the whole mass is thrown 
out. While this is going on another curb has been put in 
the press. The curb then comes back to the vats for a new 
load. In this way the work goes on until all the vats are 
emptied. The oil and water as it comes from the press 
runs down to the separating-tank. In this tank there is a 
partition from top to bottom. The oil flows across this in 
two openings, cut in the top, while the water passes under 



2 24 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

the bottom. Here men stand and skim off the oil, while 
the water is allowed to run away. In some establish- 
ments the separating-tank is so arranged that the oil 
can flow into the oil-tanks without having to be dipped out. 
This of course, saves much labour. 

The oil is now stored in the tanks. When a better 
grade of oil is desired, it is bleached by exposing it in a 
shallow " sun-tank " to the action of the sun. If a still 
finer quality is required, another kind of tank is used, 
having a frame for the reception of a sash, so that all dust 
and dirt is excluded, and the oil is bleached without waste. 
In the bottom of the vats, in the separating-tanks, and else- 
where, a great mass of sediment collects, consisting of a 
fine refuse, mixed with some oil. This is put into the 
gurry-tank," steam is turned on, and it is thoroughly 
cooked till the oil rises to the surface ; the " gurry " that 
remains is then put up in barrels and sold to the soap- 
makers, who use it for making " fish-oil soap." 

These fish yield a large quantity of oil, the highest per- 
centage being about four and a half gallons per barrel of 
fish in the month of September. A thousand fish Avill 
yield on the average 13 to 14 gallons of oil, though this 
depends largely upon the season, and the good or bad con- 
dition of the fish. 

The uses to which the oil is put are very numerous. It 
is said to be good for table purposes, and, when properly 
prepared, the best kind is extensively used under the name 
of olive oil. As a vehicle for paint, it has a good body, and 
does not readily abandon the paint which may be mixed 
with it. It is quite rare to find such paint rubbing off in 
the shape of powder. Much of the linseed oil in the 
market has a large amount of menhaden oil mixed with it. 
This is no disadvantage to the painter's work, but a serious 



Fish Oils and the Fisheries connected therewith. 225 

detriment to his pocket. Fish oil cannot, however, be used 
for lubrication. Its body and the rapidity with which it 
absorbs oxygen and " gums " entirely precludes its applica- 
tion to machinery. The literal and metaphorical bad 
odour formerly attached to fish oil is passing away. It has 
been found that by cooking the fish while they are fresh a 
perfectly sweet oil can be obtained. The vile smell of 
former (and to some extent of latter) days resulted from 
the treatment of stale or decaying fish. The common kind 
of oil is extensively used by curriers and in other trades, 
and the flesh and bones, after the oil is extracted, form a 
manure which is in great demand for the cotton fields of 
the south. 

The amount of capital invested in this business is very 
large. In 1873 it was ascertained that ^500,000 was in- 
vested in 43 factories scattered along the coasts of Long 
Island Sound, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine, 
The quantity of fish caught was 1,173,700 barrels. The 
yield of oil, 2,250,000 gallons, was valued at over ^200,000 ; 
and that of fish manure, 36,000 tons, at i^i 25,00c. 



Q 



2 26 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE SHARK FISHERY FOR THE OIL OBTAINED. 

Fishery in Norway — The Greenland shark — Mode of capture — The basking 
shark — Sharks in Australia and New Zealand — Shark fishery in India — 
Sharks' fins exported to China for food. 

The Shark Fishery of Norway. — There are four species 
of the shark tribe which inhabit the northern latitudes, 
viz., the Scymnus borealis or Squahis glacialis, Selache 
maximus, Squaliis acantkias, and Squalus sphtax niger. 

The Greenland shark {Scymnus borealis) frequents in 
numbers the banks which are traced in a line nearly the 
whole length of the western coast, at distances varying from 
50 to 100 miles from the main ; in greater abundance, how- 
ever, on that portion which lines the coast of Nordland and 
Finmark, as far as the North Cape, and between the latter 
and Cherry or Bear Island. They are to be met with, how- 
ever, all over the North Sea and Arctic Ocean, as well as in 
most of the large fiords on the west coast, at depths vary- 
ing from 100 to 200 fathoms. 

Formerly the fishery was exclusively confined to the 
immediate vicinity of the coast ; but of late it has been 
more specially and lucratively prosecuted on the banks, 
commencing in about lat. 68° to the North Cape, and 
between that and Cherry Island. The vessels employed in 



The Shark Fishery for the Oil obtaiited. 227 

this fishery generally range from 25 to 35 tons, manned 
with a crew of six men. They lie at anchor on the banks 
with 150 to 200 fathoms water, moored by a grapnel weigh- 
ing two cwt., with a warp about 300 fathoms in circum- 
ference. 

A box perforated with holes, or a canvas bag containing 
the residuum or refuse of blubber, after the oil has been ex- 
tracted by boiling, is attached to the line not far from the 
bottom, near the grapnel. Globules of oil are found to ooze 
out or to percolate through the holes or bag, and to float 
away in a continuous stream, serving as a decoy, in a 
similar manner as the cod ova are applied in France, where 
they are thrown into the sea as ground bait to attract the 
sardines. Led by this stream, the sharks are guided to the 
main bait, which is attached to a thin iron chain, of from 
one to two fathoms in length. This is fastened to a line 
of about the thickness of the stem of a common tobacco- 
pipe. At the end of the chain the hook is attached, which 
is usually of the size of a salmon-gafl", and is baited with 
some kind of fish, or, what is preferable, about a pound of 
seal blubber. The seals from which this blubber is taken 
are generally caught at Spitzbergen, and there salted fresh. 
No kind of bait appears so efiicacious or so attractive as 
this, and it throws off readily its fatty particles, which 
being carried to a considerable distance, form a trail to 
the bait, which the fish greedily take, if of blubber ; but, it 
has been observed, not so readily if the blubber is at all 
rancid. Five barrels of blubber is considered necessary for 
the season, and appears to be the average quantity used by 
each vessel. 

On hooking the shark, he is hauled to the surface of the 
water by the aid of a single purchase. Each vessel is 
furnished with four of these, two on each side. The line, 



2 28 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

being small, is only calculated to bring the fish to the level 
of the water ; his nose is then hauled a little above the 
surface, and a smart blow is immediately struck, by which he 
becomes stunned. A large hook at the end of a pole, 
attached to a strong tackle, is then driven into the fish, and 
by this means he is hauled on deck. The belly is cut open 
and the liver taken out. A hole is then made in the 
stomach for the purpose of inflating it with wind, v/hich 
done, the hole is again tied up, the fish got into the water, 
and permitted to float away. The stomach being inflated 
prevents the fish sinking, and it soon drifts out of sight. 
By being kept afloat, the fishermen imagine that the carcase 
cannot injure the fishing grounds. 

The length of this fish varies from lo to i8 feet. The 
value depends upon the size, quantity, and quality of the 
liver, which yields from one-half to two barrels, or from 1 5 
to 60 gallons of fine oil each. 

This shark is caught nearer the coast, as far as Waranger 
Fiord. The fishery commences about the end of Sep- 
tember, and is continued through the winter until the end 
of February with deep-sea lines, in open boats manned by 
five men. 

The bait preferred is either porpoise or seal blubber. 
The line is retained on the finger, and as soon as the man 
feels that the bait has been touched, he gives a sharp jerk, 
in order to fix the hook more firmly in the jaws of the fish. 
Some skill and experience is required to effect this at the 
proper moment, as the fish no sooner finds himself caught 
than he spins round the line, and on these occasions the 
line is liable to be severed by the sharp edges of the skin. 
The greatest activity is, at the same time, requisite in 
hauling the fish to the surface, in order to check the 
rotatory movement. 



The Shark Fishery for the Oil obtained. 229 

It happens not unfrequently on these occasions that 
several sharks come to the surface of the water in the wake 
of the one hooked, swim round the boat, and are caught 
by means of a swivel hook, fixed to a long gaff, which 
each boat is furnished with. They are then secured by a 
hook and strong line to the stem of the boat, until they 
can be hauled alongside. 

The result of a fishery carried on in open boats depends 
greatly on the wind and weather. When a boat's crew 
obtain from two to four barrels of liver, they are satisfied. 
Under favourable circumstances, however, they obtain from 
seven to eight ; and if during the course of the winter they 
can get from 40 to 50 barrels, the catch is esteemed a 
remarkably good one. Besides the liver, when the fish can 
be towed to the shore, the flesh is converted into food for 
the cattle, if there is a scarcity of dried cod's heads, which 
are prepared for that purpose. 

The flesh is occasionally used also for human food, being 
cut up into long strips and wind-dried in the open air, or 
buried in the ground until partially decomposed, when it is 
taken up and prepared in a peculiar manner, so as to 
become edible. It requires, however, an Arctic stomach 
to digest it. 

The basking shark {Selache maximiis), another of the 
genus, the largest of sea-fish, is found all along the coast 
from Ryvarden, lat. 59° 31', up to Finmark. This fishery 
was for a long time pursued with great activity and per- 
severance, and with such success as for a series of con- 
secutive years to form the staple and chief support of the 
inhabitants of the districts in which it was carried on. 
Of late years their numbers have decreased so as to 
diminish the importance it had for years maintained. The 
increased herring fishery which has followed, however, fully 
compensates for the decline. 



230 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

This shark differs from his fellows in not being a 
voracious fish ; consequently it is neither to be enticed nor 
caught by the same kind of bait or mode of fishing as 
pursued with the Scymmis borealis, but rather that fol- 
lowed with the whale. About the last of the dog-days, 
when the water and weather are at their highest tempera- 
ture, this shark makes his appearance on the coast, and 
the fishery immediately commences. 

Large open boats are generally employed, from 37 to 
42 feet in length, each boat being manned by four men 
and furnished with harpoons similar to those used in 
harpooning the sturgeon. The harpoon is attached to a 
line proportioned to the depth of water on the ground 
selected, which usually is from 300 to 400 fathoms. This 
rope lies coiled up in the bow of the boat. 

Thus equipped, the fishermen, selecting a light breeze 
and warm w^eather, cruise about under a triangular sail, 
near the mouth of the fiord the fish are in the habit of 
seeking. They are generally found lying perfectly still 
near the surface, apparently basking in the sun, and slowly 
follow in the wake of the boat as soon as discovered ; 
the large fin on the back, standing prominently above the 
surface of the water, indicating their presence and move- 
ments. 

The fishermen imagine, from his following the boat, 
that he is decoyed to the surface by the small triangular 
sail, which he mistakes for another fish. Certain it is that, 
whatever the temptation may be, the fish follows closely 
the boat without being disturbed for a considerable time, 
although sometimes carrying a stiff breeze. When the fish 
approaches close enough, the harpooner, watching his 
opportunity, sends his harpoon as deep into the body of the 
fish as he is able. Then arrives the perilous moment, for 



The Shark Fishery for the Oil obtained, 231 

the fish no sooner feels the weapon than he dives with great 
celerity. 

Everything must be clear, to allow the line to run out 
freely ; and it does so with such rapidity as to require one 
of the men to be incessantly pouring water over the swivel 
on which the line traverses, to prevent its igniting. Should 
the line unfortunately catch any projecting piece of wood, or 
meet with any impediment, the boat is inevitably capsized ; 
or should one of the men, through carelessness or 
accident, be caught by the line round the leg or arm, which 
has occasionally happened, he gets hauled down by the 
fish. Another man, therefore, always stands ready with an 
axe to cut the line ; but when such an accident does occur, 
generally both man and fish are lost. When the fish has 
reached the bottom, he proceeds along it, continuing to 
drag the boat with him, until his strength becomes ex- 
hausted. A lean fish holds out longer than a fat one, and 
will sometimes continue dragging for four and twenty hours, 
while a fat one generally gets tired out in three or four 
hours. 

When thoroughly exhausted, the fish is hauled up to 
the surface alongside the boat, and with a long, sharp 
knife, the fin is instantly cut off to prevent his striking, as 
a blow would readily smash the boat. He is then speared 
until quite dead. Before commencing to extract the liver, 
the fish is fastened by sundry ropes to the mast, and 
turned, when one of the men, provided with a long knife 
for the purpose, opens the fore part of the belly, which 
enables him to take out a large piece of the liver. He 
then insinuates his arm in, and separates all the fibres and 
integuments, so as efi'ectually to release the liver, which 
operation requires to be carefully performed. When com- 
pleted, the stomach is ripped up from end to end. The 



232 The Cofmnercial Products of the Sea. 

liver then floats out, the belly fills with water, and the 
fish is cast adrift and immediately sinks. The liver is then 
taken into the boat, and the fishery is concluded. 

The size and fatness of the fish vary considerably. The 
prevailing size there is from 30 to 35 feet. They have been 
caught as long as 40 feet, but this is now a rarity. Young 
fish are never met with ; they doubtless keep in deep water 
until of mature growth. The size of the liver depends 
greatly on the condition of the fish. They usually render 
from four to seven barrels of liver, occasionally as much as 
from 10 to 16. Instances even have been known where 
as much as 24 barrels have been obtained from a single 
fish ; but this is of very rare occurrence. When the liver 
is rich, six barrels will produce five barrels of oil of 30 
gallons each. No other part of the fish is utilized. 

Of the remaining species of the shark tribe, there are 
only two, besides the foregoing, which are of any import- 
ance on this coast. The first is the picked dog-fish, 
Sqitahis acanthias, which in former times was in great 
abundance along the whole coast from Gothenburg, and 
afforded lucrative employment to the fishermen. At 
present the fishery is carried on during the whole of the 
summer from the Naze to the North Cape, in the fiords as 
well as along the coast. 

This is a ravenous fish, which is caught in various ways. 
About midsummer he is observed to swim near the sur- 
face, and can then be taken in nets, as well as with Hnes, 
precaution being taken to protect the line by proper 
" serving " for a short distance beyond the hook, to prevent 
its being bitten off. This fish is eaten sometimes fresh, 
but must be skinned before being cooked. When cooked 
in this way, it is considered rather a delicacy. It is also 
dried as split stock-fish for consumption in the country, 



The Shark Fishery for the Oil obtained. 233 

as well as for export to Sweden, where it is greatly appre- 
ciated. The yolk of this shark's egg is used by the in- 
habitants as a substitute for other eggs in their domestic 
economy. The skin is employed by joiners and turners 
for polishing purposes. The liver is exceedingly rich, and 
makes a very fine oil. 

The other species is called in Norway the kulp or 
hoastorsk {Squalzis spinax niger), and is the smallest of the 
shark tribe. It is met with in all the deep fiords along the 
coast, where it commits great mischief by nibbling off the 
baits from the deep-sea lines which are set out for the ling 
and the torsk {Brosnms vidgaris). 

Lines with single hooks are never laid out to catch this 
fish ; but at the end of the summer and autumn, and in 
some fiords all the year round, instead of a single hook, 
they employ 10 to 12, placed one above the other, baited 
with half-decayed or tainted fish. The depth of water 
selected is from 60 to 100 fathoms. As the kulp is a 
sluggish fish, bites lightly, and is small, some experience 
is required to know when he bites and is secured on the 
hook, especially if there is any wind. The line, however, is 
not brought up each time the bite is felt, as there are many 
hooks ; a simple tug is given at every supposed bite. The 
fish being once hooked generally remains quiet, and one 
usually finds 8 or 10 fish caught when the line is drawn up. 
As this fish comes in shoals and takes the bait freely, an 
experienced, skilful fisherman will occasionally, during a 
single night, obtain a rich booty. The kulp will not bite 
during the day. It is not eaten, but sought after ex- 
clusively for the liver, which is unusually rich, and yields 
a very superior kind of oil. 

In the bays about the peninsula of Kola, Lapland, the 
shark fishery is now vigorously carried on by the Russians ; 



234 The Coin7nercial Products of the Sea. 

the species chiefly taken is the Scynnms borealis. The 
fishery is only prosecuted off the coast in small undecked 
boats, manned by four men. In autumn the sharks are 
in the best condition and yield the most oil ; in summer 
they scarcely afford any. Some of the large species of 
basking sharks will yield as much as 1600 lbs. of oil. The 
crude shark oil sells in Russia at about 6s. the poud of 
36 lbs., and when refined is worth double that price. 

Sharks are caught on the New Zealand shores in great 
numbers, during the months of November, December, and 
January, by the natives, who use them as an article of 
food. The fins can be procured at a very moderate rate, 
and fetch a good price in the China market. 

The Government of the colony of Victoria having pub- 
lished a scale of rewards for the capture of sharks, the 
pursuit has become a frequent occupation among the 
fishermen and boatmen of Hobson's Bay. In one week in 
May, 1877, over 3500 sharks were captured by the fisher- 
men of Sandridge, some of whom earned from £^ to £a, 
per day. One immense shark, measuring between 15 and 
16 feet in length, was caught in the bay. 

It was stated some years ago that there were 13 boats, 
manned with 12 men each, constantly engaged in the shark 
fishery at Kurrachee. One boat will sometimes capture at 
a draught as many as 100 sharks of difi"erent sizes. The 
average capture of each boat probably amounts to about 
3000, making the number of sharks taken not less than 
40,000 a year. Th^ great basking shark, or mhor (Selache 
maximus), is always harpooned ; it is found floating or 
asleep near the surface of the water. The liver of a large 
fish of this species yields there eight barrels of oil. The 
oil is of a very low specific gravity. 

The fish, once struck, is allowed to run till tired ; it is 



The Shark Fishery for the Oil obtained. 235 

then pulled in, and beaten with clubs till stunned. A large 
hook is now hooked into its eyes or nostrils, or wherever it 
can be got most easily attached, and by this the shark is 
towed to shore ; several boats are requisite for towing. 
The mhor is often 40, sometimes 60, feet in length ; the 
mouth is occasionally four feet wide. All other varieties of 
shark are caught in nets, somewhat like the way in which 
herrings are caught at home. The net is made of strong 
English whipcord ; the meshes about six inches ; they are 
generally six feet wide, and from 600 to 800 fathoms, or 
from three-quarters to nearly a mile in length. On the 
one side are floats of wood about four feet in length, at 
intervals of six feet; on the other, pieces of stone. The nets 
are sunk in deep water, from 80 to 1 50 feet, well out at sea. 

They are put in one day and taken out the next, so 
that they are down two or three times a week, according 
to the state of the weather and success of the fishing. 
The small sharks are commonly found dead, the larger 
ones much exhausted. On being taken home, the back 
fins, the only ones used, are cut off and dried on the sands 
in the sun ; the flesh is cut off in long strips, and salted for 
food ; the liver is taken out and boiled down for oil ; the 
head, bones, and intestines left on the shore to rot, or 
thrown into the sea, where numberless little sharks are 
generally on the watch to eat up the remains of their 
kindred. The species chiefly caught are the Rhyncobatus 
pectinata^ R. Icevis, and Galiocerda tigrina. 

Owing to the large size of the sharks from which the 
livers are taken, the Malabar fishermen, unlike those of 
Sind, are unable to capture them with nets. Putrid beef or 
porpoise flesh is employed, large pieces being buried for a 
day or two previous to being used. The hook is attached 
by a chain to the line whilst the fishing is carried on. 



236 The Commercial Prodticts of the Sea. 

In Sind large quantities of oil are prepared from the 
livers of different fish. The sharks {Carcharias melanopterus) 
are caught principally in October and November, for at 
that period the livers are much more developed than at 
any other season. The oil obtained from them is of the 
same quality whatever the season, but they furnish about 
three times the quantity in autumn that they do in any 
other season. The most esteemed livers are firm, and 
of a rose colour ; those which are whitish and fiabby are 
rejected as inferior. After having separated the vesicle, 
the livers are washed, and all the blood is taken out 
through incisions. They are then cut into medium-sized 
pieces, which are placed in a large earthen vessel with 
enough water to cover them. They are now heated for 1 5 
or 20 minutes, after which they are allowed to cool. The 
oil, which soon fioats to the surface, is gathered in ladles 
made from the half of a cocoa-nut, and is then poured into 
glazed earthenware jars. It is now passed through a sieve, 
and all which does not pass through is thrown away. 
Three or four days later, it is again filtered through a 
thick strainer, in order to separate the abundant deposit of 
stearine, and it is necessary to repeat this operation four 
times, at intervals of from 20 to 25 days, to separate the 
deposit ; after which the oil remains clear, of a fine straw 
colour, and smelling very^ much like cod-liver oil. Thus 
prepared, it is reserved for medical purposes. 

In India a manufacture of inferior oil is also carried on, 
which is used for lighting and other domestic purposes. It 
is prepared from the liver of sharks, rays, and other sorts of 
fish mixed. The livers are heated without being previously 
washed or picked, and the product is not purified. 

From Bombay sharks' fins weighing 6000 to 9000 cwts. 
are exported annually, valued at from 14,000 to ^20,000. 



The Shark Fishery for the Oil obtained, 237 

Besides the local catch, large quantities are imported from 
the Arabian and Persian Gulfs. There is a small export 
of these fins from Madras to the extent of 250 to 300 
cwts. annually. They are assorted into the " white " and 
" black," the former being the dorsal fins, which are uni- 
formly light coloured on both sides, and reputed to yield 
more gelatine than the other; the "black" are the pectoral, 
ventral, and anal fins, which are less esteemed than the 
white, and consequently realize a lower price. 

Sharks' fins are sent to China from various quarters ; 
from Akyab, Sumatra, Manila, Borneo, the Sandwich 
Islands, and other places. They are much esteemed as a 
food substance, being used for making soup. 



2 38 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE ISINGLASS OF COMMERCE. 

Description and uses of isinglass — Fish from which obtained — Russian isinglass 
— Vesiga — Brazilian isinglass — West Indian isinglass — North American 
isinglass— Chinese isinglass — Fish maws and sharks' fins. 

Isinglass, one of the purest and finest of the animal glues, 
is a product the preparation of which was long carried on 
almost exclusively in Russia, and chiefly obtained from the 
sturgeon. The value of the isinglass from this fish is 
chiefly due to its peculiar organic texture, on which the 
property of clarifying wines and beers depends. No arti- 
ficial isinglass, however pure the gelatine, or identical as to 
chemical composition with the air-bladder of the sturgeon, 
answers the purpose of the preparers of fermented liquors. 

Isinglass is brought to market in different forms ; some- 
times in that of plates or lumps, or in the form of a bag or 
purse, at other times rolled up in different shapes, which 
pass under the names of book, leaf, long and short staples, 
tongue or pipe, and it is cut into fine threads. When of 
good quality, isinglass is of a whitish colour, thin, and semi- 
transparent, but tough and flexible, destitute of taste as 
well as of smell. The inferior kinds are thicker, yellowish 
coloured, opaque, and sometimes have a fishy smell and 
taste. When placed in cold water, it becomes soft, then 



The Isinglass of Co77imerce. 



239 



swells, and if held up to the light in this state is opalescent. 
In boiling water pure isinglass is entirely dissolved, with 
the exception of a very minute proportion of impurities. 
Though the best isinglass is thus completely dissolved in 
hot water, yet most of that met with in commerce does not 
become so, in consequence of the presence of albuminous 
parts. 

The fine shreds into which it is cut and kept in shops 
give great facility for making a jelly in the shortest 
possible time. This can be made palatable and nourishing 
by the addition of sugar and milk, acids or spices ; about 
one-third or half an ounce is sufficient for a pint of water. 
It may also be taken in the form of a soup, with the 
addition of salt, spices, and sweet herbs, or it may be 
employed medicinally as a demulcent, either externally or 
internally. The best kinds of isinglass are alone employed 
in articles of diet and for the best confectionery, being 
added in small quantities to other, especially vegetable, 
jellies, to give them a tremulous appearance ; but gelatine 
is now frequently substituted. 

Isinglass appears to have been discovered many ages 
since, for certainly it was known to the Romans, being 
mentioned by Pliny. It is obtained in several parts of the 
world from the air-vessels (termed " sounds " or " maws ") 
of various species of sea, estuary, and fresh-water fishes, 
England procures the best from Russia, where it is prin- 
cipally collected from the family AccipenseridcB or stur- 
geons, and the following species, according to Brandt 
and Ratzeburg, furnish it : — Accipenser sturio, the common 
sturgeon ; A. huso, the great sturgeon ; A. Guldenstadtii^ 
the osseter ; A. ratheniis, the sterlet; A. stellatus, the 
sevruga or starred sturgeon, in which account are likewise 
included the A. brevirostris ; A. schypa ; A. Ratzeburgii ; 



240 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



A. Lichtensteinii ; also A. maculosiis, and A. oxyrhynchus 
from North America. 

Isinglass has, in a measure, had its consumption checked 
by its high price, and substitutes are employed, such as 
gelatine (of which it is itself the purest form). It is of a 
highly nutritious and unirritating nature, admirably adapted 
for the sick room, and the preparation of some forms of 
confectionery and cookery, besides being employed both 
externally and internally in medicine, in the preparation of 
court plaster, in some arts and manufactures, but more 
extensively for clarifying or fining wines and beer. The 
brewer employs it as follows : — Some, having been finely 
divided, is dissolved in sour beer, to the consistence of a 



Fig. 18. 




The Sturgeon. 



thick mucilage, and a portion is added to the fluid which 
it is intended to clarify, and after a longer or shorter period, 
suspended substances subside. Some suppose that all 
floating particles become entangled in the isinglass, and, 
uniting with it, form an insoluble compound which becomes 
precipitated ; others, that when dissolved in a fluid it 
lessens its affinity for the suspended particles, which, being 
thus set free, subside. 

The finest description of isinglass is thin, tough but 
flexible, white, semi-transparent, and destitute of both taste 
or smell ; it almost entirely dissolves in boiling water, and 



The Isinglass of Commerce, 



241 



provided it contains as much as one-hundredth of its 
weight of gelatine, has the property of gelatinizing or 
assuming the form of a soft, tremulous solid as it cools. 
The inferior sorts are thick, opaque, white, or yellow, 
having a fishy taste and smell, and only partially dissolve. 
The commonest kind, termed cake isinglass, is of a brownish 
colour, having an unpleasant smell, and is only used in the 
arts, and for the preparation of glue. The Brazilian isin- 
glass is very inferior to the Russian, and is in the form 
of pipe, block, honeycomb, cake, and tongue isinglass. 
The North American is like long ribbons, produced from 
the air-vessels of the Otolithus regalis, Bl. Schn. 

Russian Isinglass. — Isinglass is obtained in Russia from 
the interior lining of the swimming-bladder of the sturgeon 
{Accipenser\ the Silurus glanis^ the Lucioperca WolgensiSy 
Pall, and the large carps. The Coregonus leucichtys also 
furnishes a little. 

The air-bladders are left for some days in water, which is 
frequently changed, in order to remove the fatty and bloody 
particles ; they are then withdrawn and cut lengthwise into 
sheets, which are exposed to the sun and air, the outer part 
being attached to boards. The inside, which is formed of 
layers of pure isinglass, is carefully detached from the ex- 
terior layers, wrapped in linen, and pressed, in order to 
keep it from contracting ; it is then made up into parcels 
according to size. The parcels of isinglass of the large 
sturgeon are composed of from 10 to 15 sheets, and weigh 
about a pound and a quarter ; those of the ordinary 
sturgeon contain 25 sheets, and weigh one pound. These 
parcels, to the number of 80, are packed in a linen bag, 
covered with rush matting, and sent away sealed with lead ; 
38 lbs. are worth, at Astrakhan, from ^19 4^. to ;^28 i6j-., 
according to quality. The air-bladder, although deprived 

R 



242 The Commercial P^^odttds of the Sea. 

of its internal parts, still contains a little isinglass, which is 
scraped off with a knife and kneaded ; after being damped 
with water, it is made into small tablets about the size of a 
five-shilling piece. The sheets of isinglass of the Sihirus 
glanis are placed like leaves in a book, and are dried upon 
small cords ; it is made up into bags of 152 lbs. Carp 
isinglass {Cyprimis carpio) is made into parcels of 30 ; and, 
lastly, a good fish-glue is made at Astrakhan from the 
scales of the fish. 

Vesiga is the name given to the dorsal cord or tendons 
of the vertebral column of the larger species of sturgeons, 
prepared in a certain manner, and much esteemed for the 
table. The quantity prepared reaches the value of ;^20,000 
annually. It is first carefully washed and pressed to ex- 
tract the soft matter which it contains, then dried and 
put up in packets the entire length, and folded in the 
middle. It is used chopped up in the preparation of small 
fish-cakes, much esteemed in Russia. The Russian poud 
of about 36 lbs. is worth £2 \os. to £i 3^-. 

The mode of preparation in Russia is as follows : — 
The sound is taken from the fish while sweet and fresh, 
slit open, washed from the slimy sordes, divested of every 
thin membrane which envelops the sound, and then ex- 
posed to stiffen in the air. When the sounds of the cod or 
ling are prepared, the only difference is that they are slit 
open, washed in lime-water in order to absorb their oily 
particles, and then in clean water, when they are laid 
upon nets to dry. In the present Russian factories of the 
Caspian and Volga, the fresh sounds are first slit open, well 
washed to separate the blood and impurities, then spread 
out and exposed to the air to dry, with the inner silvery- 
white membrane turned upwards. This, which is nearly 
pure gelatine, is carefully stripped off, laid in damp cloths 



The Isinglass of Cojnmerce. 



243 



(or left in the outer covering), and forcibly kneaded with 
the hands. It is then taken out of the cloths, dried in the 
form of leaf isinglass, or rolled up, and drawn out in a 
serpentine manner into the form of a heart, horseshoe, or 
lyre (long and short staple) between three pegs, on a board 
covered with them ; here they are fixed in their places by 
wooden skewers. When they are somewhat dried there, 
they are hung on lines in the shade, till their moisture is 
entirely dissipated. The oblong pieces are sometimes 
folded in the form of book isinglass. In order to obtain 
good isinglass, it is necessary to have well-arranged rooms 
to dry it in, as at Astrakhan. According to Pallas, at 
the lower parts of the Volga, a fine gelatine is boiled out 
of the fresh swimming-bladders, and then poured into all 
kinds of forms. In Gurief, a fine boiled fish-glue is pre- 
pared, perfectly transparent, having the colour of amber, 
which is cast into slabs and plates. The Ostiaks also boil 
their fish-glue in a kettle. The common cake isinglass is 
formed of the fragments of the other sorts ; these are put 
into a flat metallic pan, with a very little water, and heated 
just enough to make the parts cohere like a pancake, when 
it is dried. 

Indian Isinglass. — Attention was first directed to this 
product by Dr. Cantor, who stated that the suleah fish of 
Bengal, when at its full size, attains about four feet in 
length, and is squaliform, resembling the shark species in 
appearance, but exhibiting a more delicate structure. The 
flesh of the fish is exceedingly coarse, and is converted 
by the natives, when salted and spiced, into bnrtah, a 
piquant relish well known at the breakfast-tables of Bengal. 
The air-bladder of the suleah may be considered the most 
valuable part of it ; this, when exposed to the sun and 
suffered to dry, becomes finely pellucid, and so hard that 



244 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

it will repel the edge of a sharp knife when applied to it. 
These bladders, when perfectly dried, vary in weight from 
half to three-quarters of a pound avoirdupois. This fish 
abounds in Channel Creek, off Saugor, and in the mouths 
of all the rivers which intersect the Sunderbunds they are 
exceedingly plentiful in certain seasons. 

The discovery of isinglass as a product of India was so 
imiportant that Dr. Cantor determined to investigate the 
subject, and to ascertain what were the fishes which yielded 
it. These seemed to be principally one or two species of 
Polynemus, especially the Polyjtemtis sele of Hamilton's 
" Fishes of the Ganges," and the gol or gheriah (Corvinus 
niger). P. sele is supposed by Royle to be a variety of 
P. lineatits, which is said to be common on all the shores 
to the eastward. A larger species, P. tetradactyhis, Shaw, 
is also believed to furnish some of the Indian isinglass. 
Several of the Siluridse also afford it in large quantities, espe- 
cially the species marked Silurus raiia by Dr. Buchanan. 

The kinds of fishes from which this useful substance 
has been obtained in India do not appear in all instances 
to have been correctly defined, for it has been suggested 
as derived from some which are destitute of air-vessels. 
Without entering too minutely into the subject, it may be 
stated that along the western coast, and down Malabar, the 
Siluroids are in the majority ; but wherever large rivers 
debouch into the sea, there the Polynemi are captured. 
As we advance up to the eastern coast, at first the Acan- 
thopterygians are in excess, whilst off Masulipatam, to the 
north again, the Polynemi become numerous, especially off 
the Sunderbunds. In Burmah, due to the character of 
the water, the Siluroids again obtain the predominance. 
Amongst the isinglass-producing Acanthopterygians, the 
Polynemi are most noted, but the species constituting this 



The Isinglass of Commerce. 



245 



genus are peculiar, in hav^ing filamentous prolongations at 
the base of each pectoral fin ; these are remarkably elon- 
gated in Polynemits paradisens, known in Bengal as the 
Tupsi miUchi or mango-fish. By correctly ascertaining 
the number of these prolongations in a specimen, a decision 
may be arrived at whether the species possesses or is des- 
titute of an air-vessel ; or, in short, if isinglass can or cannot 
be obtained from it. 

But of seven species at present recognized in the seas and 
estuaries of the coasts of India, merely two are useful for 
this manufacture, and they are the only ones which have 
five pectoral appendages. Consequently, unless a large 
Polynemus possesses five of these filamentous appendages 
at the base of its pectoral fin, it will be useless looking for 
its air-vessel ; it has none, and isinglass cannot be pre- 
pared from it. When dried, the air-vessel is tongue-shaped, 
as are also those of others of the Acanthopterygians whose 
air-vessels are loose in the cavity of the abdomen, have no 
communicating duct leading to the pharynx, and are not 
attached to the vertebrae. If we examine the air-vessels of 
the Siluroid or scaleless cat-fishes, which are used for isin- 
glass, we find them entirely different. They are like short 
rounded bags with an open mouth, this latter being where 
they have been torn away from their adhesions to the 
vertebrae. The fishes which furnish these descriptions of 
air-vessels are mostly found in muddy waters, estuaries, 
and the mouths of rivers, but do not thrive where the sea is 
clear. The Rita ritoides, C. and V., or Pimelodits rita, H. B., 
which attains a great size, and is found far up rivers, is 
said to afford this substance in large quantities. 

Dr. McClelland discovered, about the year 1839, that 
the Chinese had been importing isinglass from India in 
enormous quantities, and from immemorial ages, and an 



246 The Co7n7nercial Products of the Sea. 

investigation was commenced into this subject. He ascer- 
tained that from one village, six miles south-east of Calcutta, 
from 800 to 900 maunds yearly, valued at from Rs. 25 to 
40 the maund, were exported. Lord Auckland, when 
governor-general, sent some specimens to England as a 
new export, and, according to Dr. Royle, gave " a general 
view of Indian fisheries, and the propriety of attending 
more extensively to the curing of fish." Dr. Royle, in 1842, 
in a pamphlet " on the production of isinglass along the 
coasts of India," gave a resume of what had been previously 
accomplished, as well as some very interesting figures and 
experiments on the value of this article, as received in 
London, both in an economic and financial point of view. 
" The sounds, when received fresh, are opened and stripped 
of the vascular covering and internal membrane, washed, 
and at once made into any form the manufacturer finds 
most convenient for packing. . . . When dry, before it 
reaches the manufacturer (which is commonly the case, the 
fish being caught at a distance towards the sea), the sound 
has to be opened, and as much of the lining membrane as 
possible removed by the hand. A large earthen vessel is 
then filled with sounds, and water poured into it, and the 
whole covered up for 12 hours, when the sounds will have 
been brought back to their original soft state, in which they 
may be as perfectly cleaned as if they had been obtained 
fresh." It seems more than probable that this will account 
for the fishy odour of this isinglass, as the sounds should be 
quite fresh when prepared. Dr. McClelland bleached his 
specimens in alum water (one ounce to four or five gallons), 
soaking them a short time, and, when saturated, removing 
them to a linen or cotton cloth, likewise saturated with 
alum water. In this they were tightly rolled up and set 
aside for 12 hours, the process being repeated until they 



The Isinglass of Commerce. 247 

were white. Some were sprinkled or dusted with chalk, in 
case of exposure to damp in their homeward voyage ; it 
can be easily rubbed off. At Gwadur the air-vessels were 
soaked in brine before being dried ; but elsewhere they are 
simply removed and dried in the sun. 

The lining membrane of the air-vessel of the stur- 
geon, as already noticed, yields the best isinglass, but it 
has been rejected in the Indian forms, which accounts for 
its more fibrous nature, although not proving that this 
lining portion in India is of the best. East Indian isinglass 
has some positive defects, such as retaining a fishy smell, 
besides being partially insoluble, perhaps due to some por- 
tions of the albuminous membranes remaining. In fact, 
it requires more care in its preparation, which should be 
undertaken whilst it is quite fresh ; and greater caution is 
necessary in the drying process. If it be not properly 
dried, it might possibly undergo a slight change or de- 
composition, and become partially converted into a more 
insoluble form of gelatine. A more important objection is 
the smell, which, however, may likewise, to some extent, be 
traced to the preparation. Care should be taken that it is 
not contaminated by the animal fluid of the fish, for then 
it becomes very difficult to purify. Likewise, it is too 
thick, which may be obviated by beating or pressure, as 
is now done with some American and Brazilian kinds. 
" The extra labour that this would require," observes Royle, 
" could be profitably saved by not tearing it into fibres, in 
which form it is disapproved of in the market ; but it 
might still be cut or rasped into a state fit for domestic 
use." The same authority likewise states that — " It is pre- 
ferable, and will be cheaper, to prepare the article and send 
it as sheet isinglass, that is, in the form of the slit sounds 
themselves, or their purest membrane, washed, cleaned, and 



248 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



dried in the best manner. . . . Isinglass cut into, threads 
is unsuitable for the English market, because there is a 
great prejudice against purchasing wholesale, things in a 
cut and powdered state, in consequence of the innumerable 
methods adopted for falsifying and adulterating almost 
every drug." 

The method adopted in separating isinglass from the 
fish-sounds and rendering it fit for market in India is as 
follows : — 

The air-vessel is from 8 to 12 inches long, pointed at 
each end like a double nightcap, hollow, but without an 
opening. It is merely taken out of the fish when caught, 
and thrown aside without further trouble by the fishermen. 
It is at first soft and doughy to the feel, and partially 
distended with air ; but in time it becomes collapsed and 
hard outside, in which state it is sold to the Chinese. 

When fresh taken from the fish, it is covered by a thin 
cobweb of small blood-vessels, which are easily peeled off, 
as none of them enter the substance of the organ. Where 
this is neglected it is stained and spotted with blood, and 
the whole becomes hard and consolidated together, or the 
vascular membrane itself becomes putrid in places. 

Hence the vascular membrane should always be care- 
fully peeled off the first thing by the fishermen, when the 
outside will present an appearance like white satin, of a 
fine, oblique fibrous texture. The edge should now be 
slit open, and the same kind of bloody cobweb peeled from 
within. The inner side will then present the same white- 
satin appearance as the outside, but, if attentively ex- 
amined, will be seen to consist of transverse instead of 
oblique fibres. If it be allowed to dry, the whole becomes 
hard, horny, and partially transparent. 

The thickness of the organ is about one-third of an 



The Isinglass of Commerce. 249 

inch, and the best way to see its fibrous structure is to tear 
it across when it is dry. In this way it spHts in the direc- 
tion of the transverse fibre, of which nine-tenths of its sub- 
stance consists, the obHque fibre forming merely a thin 
coat outside. If the mechanical division of the transverse 
fibre be thus continued, the outer oblique coat becomes 
readily detached, and falls off in plates and scales from the 
outside. Thus, by mechanical means the organ may be 
separated into two very distinct parts — the first, or trans- 
verse fibre, consisting of perfectly pure gelatine, comprising 
about nine-tenths of the whole ; the second, or oblique 
fibre, falls off in broad plates, consisting of albumen, thus 
leaving the gelatine or isinglass perfectly pure. 

When cut open, cleaned, and dried as above, the suleah- 
sound weighs from 12 to 16 ounces, from which 90 per cent, 
of pure isinglass may be separated by mechanical means. 

The fish being caught at a distance from Bombay and 
Calcutta, the sounds are usually sold unopened and un- 
cleaned, as taken from the fish, with the cobweb of blood- 
vessels hardened and dried upon the surface, which is 
frequently stained with blood. 

In this state it requires to be soaked for 12 hours in 
water to overcome the horny consistence, so far as to be 
able to cut it open. The outer rind, being insoluble, is that 
on which soaking makes the least impression ; so that 
when opened we frequently find much of the pure isinglass 
within dissolved ; and if continued soaking and washing be 
practised after it is opened, with a view to soften and 
cleanse the outer insoluble rind, the article may become 
greatly impoverished and deteriorated from the solution of 
the inner parts, which thus become dissolved and washed 
away incautiously during the operation. 

To obviate this it is only necessary to induce the 



250 The Commercial Prodticts of the Sea. 

fishermen to open the sounds at once when taken from the 
fish, and strip them of their cobweb, when they should 
merely be rinsed with a little fresh water and dried in the 
sun ; after which the longer they are kept exposed to dry 
in the air, the better. 

Brazilian Isinglass. — One or other of the siluroid fishes 
common in Guiana probably yields the Brazilian isinglass, 
which comes chiefly in the form of lump or pipe. 

The fish which produce this article are caught annually 
in great quantities at the mouth of the Amazon. The 
isinglass is almost all sent to Great Britain. The fish 
caught in the rivers are not of first-rate quality. Great 
quantities of piracuru ( Vastris gigas), highly esteemed by 
the natives, are taken on the Upper Amazon, and sent to 
the Para market. 

A machorian, which gives 22 lbs. of salted or dried fish, 
produces about i lb. oz. of isinglass. Thus, the weight 
of the isinglass is to the fish as i to 20, a rule found to 
be pretty general. According to the estimated take of fish, 
the yield of isinglass should be 123,480 lbs. 

Supposing the price of isinglass to be but 2s. 6d. the 
pound (at Para it is 4^. and sometimes 5^-.), and the price 
of salt fish a penny per pound, we have the following as the 
produce of the local fishery : — 

Isinglass, 123,480 lbs. at 2^. 6^. ... ^15,435 

Salt fish, 2,346,120 lbs., oXid. ... 9,801 

^^25,236 

From 750 to 880 cwt. of isinglass are shipped from 
Brazil annually, of the value of 15,000 to ;^i6,ooo. 

In the Cape Colony som.e of the wine merchants make 
use of the dried bladder of the kabeljauw {Scicena hololepi- 
dota, Cuv. and Val.) instead of isinglass. 



The Isinglass of Comme^^ce, 251 

West Indian Isinglass. — Under this name the isinglass 
obtained in British and French Guiana enters into com- 
merce. It is the produce of one or two siluroid fishes. In 
British Guiana it appears to be obtained from the gilbackre 
or gilbagre {Sihirns Parkerii), a fish very abundant in the 
estuaries of the rivers of the colony. A small quantity of 
this fish-glue, as it is termed, is now exported from thence. 

In French Guiana some attention has also been given 
to the preparation of isinglass obtained from the machorian 
{Silin'iLS felis), which is especially employed in the clarifi- 
cation of beer. Reduced into small shreds by the action 
of a mechanical plane, it dissolves completely in cold 
water, and is compared with Russian isinglass as two 
to three. Its cheapness gives it also advantages over the 
latter. 

North American Isinglass. — Cod-sounds, which are 
brought in great quantities from Newfoundland, are nothing 
more than the salted air-bladders of these fishes. The 
Iceland fishermen, as well as those of America, prepare 
isinglass of a very excellent quality from cod-sounds, 
though they are not acquainted with the method of clarify- 
ing it which the Russians practise in preparing that article 
from the sound of the sturgeon. 

Ribbon isinglass is obtained from the air-bladder of 
the common hake {Merlnciits vtUgaris), or probably from 
the fish passing under the name of hake on the coasts 
of America {Phycis chiiss). The air-bladder is thrown 
into water to macerate for a little while, and taken out 
and pressed between two iron rollers, by which it is elon- 
gated to the extent of half a yard and more. It is then 
carefully dried, packed, and sent to market. 

In the manufacture of ribbon isinglass from fish-sounds 
it is customary to place the softened and moist or 



252 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 

macerated sounds between feed and compressing rollers, by 
which the viscid substance is compressed and joined, and 
formed into a continuous sheet. Notwithstanding the con- 
stant injection of cold water into the rolls, the substance 
adheres tenaciously to the roll, accumulates thereupon, and 
has to be cut away ; so that the operation is slow and 
laborious, and productive of imperfect sheets. 

Mr. James Manning, of Rockport, Massachusetts, has 
invented an improvement, designed to so strip the gela- 
tinous substance from the rolls that the work may proceed 
continuously, the ribbon, as it is stopped, being again fed 
or guided by the operator into and between the rolls until 
sufficiently reduced or elongated for removal, or, for the 
action of other rolls, set nearer together to produce a 
thinner ribbon. He effects this result by placing at the 
side of each roll a scraper extending the whole length of 
the roll, having an edge set up to the roll, so that the roll 
shall run just clear of it, which scraper or cleaner strips 
from the whole surface of the roil the adhering gelatine in 
the form of a sheet. 

Knowing that the sturgeon abounded in the North 
American rivers, and struck by the absence of isinglass 
from that quarter, in 185 1 Professor Owen drew the atten- 
tion of the Canadian Commissioner to the fact, and now a 
commerce has sprung up for this valuable product, which, 
previous to the first London Exhibition, had been rejected 
among the useless entrails of the sturgeon. Now some 
attention has been given to the preparation of the air- 
bladder and the outer tunic of the alimentary canal, after 
the modes of obtaining the best Russian isinglass. 

The sturgeon enters the rivers of North America, such 
as the Potomac, Delaware, Hudson, and Kennebec, in 
numberless quantities, like the shad and herring ; but 



The Isinglass of Commerce. 



253 



very little use is made of it. From Virginia up to the 
highest habitable northern latitudes, they ascend the rivers 
300 to 500 miles up. From 30,000 to 40,000 sturgeons 
might be caught annually in the before-named rivers, and 
without counting the rivers farther north of Maine, the 
annual export of pickled sturgeon, caviare, and isinglass 
alone would be worth 500,000 dollars. The sturgeon is not, 
however, much esteemed in America ; it brings scarcely 
twopence a pound in the market, and the roe and swim- 
ming-bladder are always thrown away. There are two 
species of sturgeon which frequent the American rivers — • 
the round-nosed (Accipenser rubicimdus) , which is gene- 
rally eight feet or more long, and weighs over 200 lbs. ; 
and the sharp or shovel nosed {Scaphirhyncus platyrhyn- 
cus), which is seldom more than five feet long, and 
weighs about 150 lbs. or more. In Russia some are found 
which weigh 500 lbs., and in Norway one was caught 
which weighed 1000 lbs. 

In the Hudson river thousands are captured annually 
— a number of persons making this their sole business. 
Immense nets are cast ; but instead of hauling them entire, 
their floats are watched, and when one goes down a stur- 
geon is calculated on. The net is drawn at that point, 
his sturgeonship is hauled into a scow," and the net is 
dropped again for a fresh victim. Inshore the fishermen 
have pens where the fish are kept for market. Lots of 
them go to Albany, where they are considered " tit-bits." 
Thousands of them are cut up and tried for the oil which 
they yield in abundance. 

Chinese Isinglass. — Isinglass or fish-glue is very exten- 
sively employed in China for a great number of purposes. 
This substance, which is obtained in Europe by treating 
principally the swimming-bladder of the sturgeon, is made 



2 54 ^^^^ Com7nercial Pi^odttcts of the Sea. 

in China in another manner. There we meet in commerce 
with plates of a horny appearance, whitish, and of a tissue 
resembling animal membrane. These plates are of dif- 
ferent forms, and bear in China the name of jtt-ka. This 
substance, dissolved in water, forms a glue of an excellent 
quality, which is specially employed by cabinet-makers, 
furniture being an industry for which Ningpo is justly 
renowned. This glue has properties much resembling 
gelatine. Like gelatine, it is very nitrogenous, furnishing 
by distillation ammoniacal compounds and a bulky char- 
coal. This, incinerated, gives a whitish ash, composed 
probably of phosphate of lime. 

In an industrial point of view it differs from isinglass 
by furnishing a glue of very considerable resistance. That 
of the best quality is reserved for the manufacture of 
furniture of the highest class, and is employed to unite 
pieces of wood which are required to resist great strain. 
Besides its industrial uses, this fish-glue is highly esteemed 
for food purposes by the Chinese. 

The three kinds of fish chiefly used for obtaining 
isinglass in China are : — i. The My-yu {ScicBiia liLcida), 
having greyish scales ; 2. Ta-houang-yu {OtolitJms macu- 
latiis), the head, fins, etc., of which are of a bright yellow ; 
3. Mung-pu {Anginlla {Mtircena) pekinensis, Basilewski). 
To obtain the swimming-bladder the gills are removed, 
and by introducing the finger into the interior the air- 
bladder is obtained. The intestinal and membranous parts 
which surround this organ are separated, and with a knife 
it is split longitudinally ; the two lips are lifted, and a 
whitish membrane, which is found on each side, is taken 
out. In this state it is sold for food purposes. It is boiled 
a certain time in water, but does not dissolve, forming only 
a gelatinous mass of an insipid flavour. With the third- 



The Isinglass of Commerce. 



255 



named fish, of the eel species, the belly is opened, and the 
organ, which is often of great size, removed. 

The glue which is made is of excellent quality, but 
often yellow or grey tinted, according to the inferior quality 
of the substance employed. It is thus prepared : — The 
jii-ka is washed in water for about two hours, then taken 
out and placed in a water-bath for a certain time. When, 
by the touch, it is found to be soft, it is removed and 
beaten with a heavy iron hammer. This is said to be 
a delicate operation, which should be done at the proper 
time. The substance is then flattened and rolled by the 
hand, and horizontal incisions are made, so that the air 
may more readily reach it and the drying be more rapid. 
When the glue is to be used, it is broken in pieces, put 
in a water-bath, with a little water to dissolve it. 

It is probable if the Chinese isinglass were treated with 
sulphurous acid, a better commercial product might be 
obtained. 

Besides its use for food purposes in China, isinglass is 
employed medicinally. That which is very transparent is 
most esteemed. It is usually met with in long, channelled 
pieces, transparent, of a dull yellow colour. Gelatine is 
often substituted for it, which is in long, opaque tablets, 
of a deep brown, and is made from the skins of different 
animals. 

From the ports of Hiogo and Osaka, in Japan, the 
exports of isinglass to Shanghai and Hongkong were in — 

Piculs. Value. 

1874 2286 175,212 

1875 6238 198,416 

In many of the French colonies it is stated that large 
quantities of valuable isinglass are lost to commerce from 
carelessness and ignorance. At Senegal and at Mahe the 



256 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



swimming-bladders are thrown away with the entrails. At 
Newfoundland they form part of the food of the seamen, 
and a few barrels are sent to France. From Cochin China 
a small quantity is shipped to China. From Cayenne 
9774 lbs., valued at £iqG6, were shipped in 1874. The 
average annual imports of isinglass into China were, in 
the five years ending 1870, 2953 piculs of 133 lbs., and in 
the five years ending 1875, 3934 piculs. 

Fish-Maws are the swimming-bladders or sounds of 
different fish, extracted and merely dried in the sun, and 
considered a great luxury by the Chinese, as possessing 
strengthening properties. They are extensively collected 
on the Malabar coast and shipped to Bombay, from 
whence large quantities are re-exported, principally to 
China and the Straits Settlements, 

In the official year ending 1872, 9008 cwts.. of fish- 
maws and sharks' fins, valued at ;^30,ioo, were exported 
from Bombay. From Penang 2277 piculs were shipped 
in 1870, and from Singapore 125,946 cwt, valued at ^^13,717. 
They often fetch as much as ^14 the cwt. in the Canton 
market. 



{ 257 ) 



CHAPTER IX. 

OTHER FISH PRODUCTS AND THEIR USES. 

Miscellaneous uses of parts of fishes — Scales of fish — Articles made from them — 
Skin of fishes ; applications of it — Shark skin — Ray skins — Shagreen and 
galuchat — Fish flour — Fish paste — Guanine., or pearl essence. 

Some of the miscellaneous uses of parts of fish are curious. 
Thus, the serrated spine of the ray fish is used by the 
Indians of the Amazon to arm their arrows. In India the 
jawbone of the boalee fish {Silurus boalis) is employed by 
the natives about Dacca. The teeth being small, recurved, 
and closely set, act as a fine comb for carding cotton, in 
removing the loose and coarse fibres and all extraneous 
matters from the cotton wool. Sharks' teeth are used in 
arming weapons, and the teeth of sharks and other fish 
as trinkets. The jaws of the sleeper shark {Somniosus 
brevipinnd) are used for head-dresses by the North 
American Indians. Fish bones are used by Indians and 
Eskimo in making implements ; sharks' vertebrae for canes ; 
the bones of the whale for weapons. Those of sharks and 
skates are used in Japan in making imitation tortoise-shell. 
Among the islands of the Corean Archipelago, the children 
use the dried spiral eggs of a species of skate or some other 
cartilaginous fish as rattles, having first introduced a few 
small pebbles to assist in making a noise. 

s 



258 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

Scales of fish are composed of alternate layers of mem- 
branous laminae and phosphate of lime, to which they owe 
their brilliancy. Perhaps the enamel or nacreous covering 
of the scales of fish generally is capable of being employed 
more largely in the arts ; it appears to be std generis, and 
seems hitherto to have escaped the scrutiny of organic 
chemistry. 

At the Vienna International Exhibition, the scales of 
the captain fish {Heterotis), from Senegal, were shown, for 
making fish-glue to stiffen and glaze ribands. 

The Royal University of Norway, Christiana, sent to 
the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, in 1875, a diadem 
made from fish scales and eyes ; and at the Paris Inter- 
national Exhibition of 1878 two Swedish exhibitors showed 
flowers and ornaments made of fish scales. 

Parures and ornaments for ladies, made of fish scales, 
were at one time largely sold at the Crystal Palace, 
London. 

At Newark, in the United States, large fish scales have 
been for some time industrially employed. The fresh scales 
are steeped for 24 hours in a solution of marine salt in order 
to clean them. They then undergo five or six washings in 
distilled water, which is renewed every two or three hours. 
Each scale is then separately dried with a clean cloth, and 
lightly pressed and left to dry. Finally, they are macerated 
for an hour in alcohol, and rubbed dry. They then 
appear like mother-of-pearl, and of a firm and elastic con- 
sistence. They are worked up either plain or coloured, for 
making artificial flowers, marquetry articles, and other fancy 
work. The Chinese have a mode of grinding up fish scales 
and using the powder as a dry pigment, to give a brilliancy 
to parts of pictures. 

The skin of fishes is chiefly gelatinous, and is easily 



Other Fish Products and their Uses. 259 

soluble in water ; but some is of a firmer, stronger, and 
more useful character. 

Although the skin of some marine mammals, such as 
those of the seal, walrus, and the white whale, or Beluga 
(known as porpoise leather), have long been commercially 
employed, it is only lately that attention has been more 
generally directed to the utilization of fish skins on an 
extended scale. Their employment hitherto has been very 
limited. Eel skins have been used for the thongs of whips 
and the attachments of flails, dried sole skins to clarify 
coffee, and some shark and ray skins by workmen to 
smooth and polish substances, and also to make a kind of 
shagreen leather. - 

At the Maritime Exhibition, held at the Westminster 
Aquarium in 1876, Mr. G. Kent, of Christiana, Norway, 
exhibited a variety of tanned skins, among which were : — 

Whale skins tanned ; the size ranging from 12 inches 
broad by 60 feet in length, suitable for wheel bands, for 
driving machinery, etc. 

White fish, for upper leather, which can be prepared in 
pieces of 12 feet by 4 feet. 

Skins of various flat-fish, dressed and prepared for 
gloves. Fine upper leather can be made with it, often to 
be had in sizes up to three feet square. 

Skins of soles, dressed and tanned suitable for purses, etc. 

Skins of thornbacks, suitable for cabinet-makers instead 
of sand-paper, and very much more durable. 

Skins of eels, dressed and dyed suitable for braces and 
other purposes. 

Mention is made of an industry carried on at Colborn, 
in Canada, with the skins of species of Siluroids for glove- 
making, and this is to be prosecuted on a larger scale, both 
for the flesh for salting and the skin for currying. 



26o The Commercial Prodttcts of the Sea. 



Shoes have been made in Gloucester, Massachusetts, 
from the skins of the cusk or torsk {Brosvins vulgaris), the 
use of which has been patented. If this material for shoes 
proves what it promises, it will open up a new market for 
fish skins, which will no doubt be highly profitable. In 
Egypt fish skins from the Red Sea are used for soles of shoes. 
In the Animal Products Collection at the Bethnal-green 
Museum, there are some tanned sole skins shown. The 
skin of the losh or burbot {Lota inaculata), cleansed, 
stretched, and dried, is used by the country people in many 
parts of Russia and Siberia to trim their dresses, and 
instead of glass for the windows of their dwellings, being as 
transparent as oiled paper. It is also utilized by some of 
the Tartar tribes, as material for their summer dresses, and 
the bags in which they pack their animal skins. The 
inhabitants of the eastern coasts of the middle of Asia 
clothe themselves with the tanned skins of the salmon. It 
is asserted that it makes a leather as tough as wash-leather. 
The scale-marks give a very neat pattern to the leather. 

W. Brozowsky, in his " Waarenkunde," Vienna, 1869, 
under *^ Fish Skin," says this is obtained from the sea-angel 
{Squalns squatina, Lin. ; SquaWia Icevis, Cuv.), the thorny 
shark {Squalns acanthias, S. carcharias), the tigered shark 
(5. caniculata), and some skates, as the angel skate {Raja 
r/iinobatis), R. ScpJicn, etc. The skins of these skates and 
sharks have spines of different sizes instead of scales. The 
skins are used for polishing, and, after the star-formed 
spines have been smoothed down with sandstone, for cover- 
ing boxes and cases, etc. 

Guibourt (sixth edition, by Dr. G. Planchon, 1870-71, 
vol. iv.), says the sephen of the Red and Indian Seas, 
belonging to the genus Tiygoji, produces the tuberculous 
and hard skin called galuchat, after the name of a Paris 



Otkei^ Fish Products and their Uses. 261 



workman who employed it first. The greater part of the 
Selacians, viz., the rousettes, sharks, humantins, aiguillats, 
leiches, etc., have a rough skin, which is used for covering 
boxes, and also for polishing wood. The greatest con- 
fusion exists among merchants as to the names given to 
the different skins. Each tradesman applies, according to 
his fancy, the name of peau de reqidn, pcaiL die chien de mer, 
chagrin, and even galiLchat. From specimens of the various 
skins, the following would seem to be the species utilized : — 

1. Shark skin, from a young shark ; small, imbricated 
scales, somewhat translucid, with longitudinal lines, the 
border or edge entire and circular. This edge is free on 
the body, but attached on the fins. This skin serves for 
covering cases, etc., but is not rough enough for polishing. 

2. Skin of mottled rousette {Scylliiiin, Cuv.). Tuber- 
culous, imbricated, horny, fine and hard scales, very near 
one to the other, and transparent, each triangular. Skin 
much used for polishing. Some persons state that " false 
galuchat " is made of it by rubbing off the scales, which 
leaves a square figure that becomes very showy when the 
skin is applied on a green paper. " I rather believe," con- 
tinues M. Guibourt, " that the false galuchat is made with 
the skin of the aiguillat." 

3. Pcau de leiche {Scymmis), sold to cabinet-makers 
under the name of pean de chien de i?ier, is covered with 
nearly rhomboid, tuberculous, semi-transparent scales, 
arranged one near the other in quincunxes. 

4. Peaic daiguillat {Spinax acanthias^ Cuv.). — Viewed 
with a magnifying glass, this skin appears covered with 
small square opaline scales, not rough like the preceding, 
but much used by the gainiers or sheath-makers, for its 
glossy nacreous aspect. 

5. Pean de sagri {Spinax 7iiger, Cuv.). Same uses as the 



262 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

preceding. The word sagri is Persian ; sagker, Turkish, 
from its resemblance to the dressed leather made from the 
mule and ass, whence our word shagreen. 

6. Galuchat or Sephen skin, from the back of the Hypo- 
lopJms Sephen and Trygon Sephen, Cloq. It has numerous 
round tubercles, which become white by rubbing down, and 
in the interior opaque and nacreous. The skin is some- 
times dyed differ&nt colours, but it is often preferable to 
leave it the natural colour by only half polishing it. 

The quantity of ray skins, dried or salted, imported 
into France in 1863 was about 18,000 lbs. weight, prin- 
cipally from Portugal. Formerly they used to fetch as 
high as seven francs the pound ; now they may be had for 
i^. a pound. 

The best galuchat, or what we should call shagreen, 
is made from the skin of the sephen, which abounds in 
the Mediterranean Sea, and is also met with m the Red 
Sea and the Indian Ocean. This skin is remarkable for 
the size of the osseous protuberances. There are, however, 
two kinds of these rays, one with rough skin and the other 
with smooth. 

From a certain portion of the skin of the angel shark 
{Squatina dngelus) the Turks make the most beautiful 
sea-green watch-cases. These sharks, which form a con- 
necting link between the genera of rays and sharks, are 
found in the Mediterranean principally, and the German 
Ocean sometimes. The skin, being very rough, is em- 
ployed to polish wood and ivory, as well as for other uses 
in the arts. 

Turners, ebonists, and carpenters in Europe use the 
rough skin of the blue dog-fish {Sqiidlits glaucus, Lin.) 
like emery paper, for smoothing their work and preparing 
it for polishing. This shark skin is also used by the 



Other Fish Products and their Uses. 263 

native workmen of the East for polishing wood and 
ivory, and it is made into shagreen. That most used 
now seems to be the skin of the ray {Hypolophits Sepheii), 
which is very common on the Malabar coast, and an 
extensive commerce is now carried on in them in the 
Indian Ocean ; they are found in the Sea of Oman, and 
also taken at Mahe. The house of Giraudon, i, Rue de 
Hasard Richelieu, Paris, makes excellent use of them for 
morocco and tabletterie. At the Paris Exhibition, 1878, 
this firm exhibited two cases with numerous illustrations 
of the ornamental application of the prepared skin in large 
office-table inkstands, candlesticks, boxes and caskets, 
paper knives, reticules, card-cases, frames for photographs, 
bracelets, scent-bottles, etc. The long tail is also used for 
canes and penholders. 

Peaii. de rousette {Squalus catidus and caniadus, Lin.). 
This fish, called chat at Marseilles, and crin in Catalonia, 
is smaller than the angel fish. The skin, reddish and 
without spots, is of a uniform grain, flat, and only used to 
make cases and other articles known as shagreen. These 
skins come from the Mediterranean, and are imported 
in bundles by the sailors, selling at from 30^". to 36^. the 
dozen, according to size. 

Peaic de chien de mer is another name given in France 
to some species of Sqitaliis or requin. That usually found 
on the French coasts is known under the names of chien 
marin^ chat marin, rousette tigree ( Squalus catidus^ Lin.). 
Turners, cabinet-makers, and carpenters use the skin for 
scraping and smoothing their work before polishing; metal- 
workers and others also employ it. This skin, when worked 
up with the tubercules with which it is studded, takes 
the name of galuchat, and is ordinarily dyed green, to 
cover cases, sheaths, and boxes. Under the name of 



264 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

chagrin these skins used to be much employed in Turkey, 
Syria, Tunis, and Tripoli. That made in Constantinople 
was considered the best. It was coloured black, green, 
white, and red. 

Fish Products. — The ingenuity of the Norwegians has 
discovered a hundred ways of pleasing the palate of the 
home consumer, and increasing the export of articles 
derived from the sea. Preserved fish and portions of fish, 
such as roes and sounds, salmon and lobster patties, or 
rather pasties or pates — for the first word gives an idea of 
something small, whereas these and other pates well known 
on the Continent resemble in size the famous venison 
pasties of the olden time in England, and are often a yard 
or more in length — preserved mussels, lobsters, prawns, 
and a dozen other articles, make up altogether a very con- 
siderable trade. Amongst the most peculiar preparations 
of Norway, hov/ever, are the fish flours — -fa^dnes de poissoit, 
as they are called. They are composed of the flesh of fish 
reduced to powder, with some additional substances, and 
the biscuits made from these flours are said by certain 
chemists to contain four times the nutritive matter of beef, 
and 16 times that of milk or rye bread. The f urine de 
poisson is also used in place of rice and potatoes ; and the 
dishes prepared from it are served at Norwegian tables 
with poultry, and are said to be very palatable. 

Hard, horny pieces of dried bonito, called ciimmehnumSy, 
are rasped over their rice by the Hindoos. Dried loaves of 
putrid pounded fish are eaten in Africa and South America. 

Fish paste. — A peculiar preparation, called by the 
Malays balachong and by the Javanese trasi, is a foetid 
mass, composed chiefly of pounded or bruised fish and 
shrimps ; this is fermented and dried in the sun. It is 
largely consumed as a condiment to rice in all the countries 



Other Fish Products and their Uses. 265 

to the east of Bengal, including the southern provinces of 
China and the islands of the Indian Archipelago. Its 
distribution gives rise to an extensive internal traffic, and, 
like the herrings and salt fish with the negro population of 
the West Indies, it forms to the natives a palatable addition 
to their ordinary food. 

There is carried on, on the coasts of Cochin China, a 
considerable fishery for the preparation of a condiment or 
fish sauce, which is alleged to have very hygienic proper- 
ties. It is there called Niwc-mam,'' and is made with 
shrimps and small fish which swarm on the banks of the 
coast during the months of May to August ; these are 
slowly decomposed in salt. The most esteemed kinds are 
those of Tonkin and Phu-quoc. Of this sauce there are 
consumed in the six French provinces about 8,000,000 
jars, valued at 2,000,000 francs 80,000). This condi- 
ment is brought to perfection by being buried in the earth 
for several years. There is also made a fluid sauce, which 
is equal to the best anchovy. Nitoc-mam is an article of 
great necessity to the Annamites, who live in the midst of 
marshes, where the water is bad, and who neither drink 
wine nor spirits. Many of the French officers attribute the 
good health they enjoy while in Cochin China to the use 
of this fish paste. 

A kind of pickle, called garum, is prepared in some 
countries of the East, of fish half putrified and strongly 
salted, with the addition of aromatics. Several species 
of garum were used by the Romans, which were made 
from the mackerel and the bonito. 

The swimming-bladder of Argentina sphyrcena^ Lin., 
inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea, abounds in the silvery 
substance so remarkable in fishes, and is em.ployed to form 
imitation pearls. 



266 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

The perfectly white solution of the scales of the bleak 
(Leiicisciis alhirniis) , a fish indigenous to the rivers of France, 
is now used largely for the manufacture of artificial pearls. 
The solution or guanine is a mucus which lubricates the 
scales of the fish. It coagulates by heat to a thick, white 
deposit, and is obtained by carefully scraping the fish over 
a shallow tub containing fresh water. Care is taken not to 
scale the black or dorsal part, as these scales are yellow, 
while the white scales only possess value. The material is 
received on a horsehair sieve. The first water, mixed with 
a little blood, is thrown away. The scales are then washed 
and pressed, when the mucus or essence {gitanine) sinks to 
the bottom of the tub and appears as a very brilliant blue- 
white oily mass. It takes 40,000 fish to furnish two pounds 
of the material. The fishermen seal it in tin boxes with 
am^monia, and in this condition send it to Paris. If a drop 
of the essence be taken up by a straw and let fall upon 
water, it floats, giving forth the most brilliant colours. Glass 
bulbs, in the shape of pearls, lined with this substance, 
imitate the real gems with remarkable closeness. 



( 267 ) 



CHAPTER X. 

INDUSTRIAL AND MANUFACTURING USES OF SHELLS. 

Composition of shells — Variety of forms and colours — ^Various economic uses 
to which they are put — Extensive commerce in shells — Shell cameos — The 
cowry shells — ^Their various lises^ as currency, for decoration, etc. — Shells 
worn for personal ornament — Wampum or treaty belts of shells — Shells 
as studies of design — British commerce in shells. 

Shells, from their variety of structure and colour, and 
their singular beauty, have always formed a fruitful theme of 
description for the writer and the poet. The works of most 
of our best authors teem with lovely passages^ many of 
which must occur to the memory of any general reader. 

' ' Their exquisite, fragile, and beautiful forms 
Are nursed by the ocean and rocked by the storms. " 

By young and old, savage and civilized, shells are alike 
admired and coveted, either for personal decoration, for the 
cabinet of the collector and the naturalist, or as, simple 
ornaments, in a room. 

The uses to which shells are applied are more extensive 
than is, generally supposed. The trade is growing year by 
year into greater importance ; and there is ample scope yet 
for its extension with profit and advantage, alike to the 
merchant and importer, to the manufacturer and vendor^ 
and to the general public who are the purchasers.. 



2 68 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

To understand the composition of shells, a little pre- 
liminary scientific definition must be given. It has been 
observed that shells may be regarded as epidermal in their 
character, being formed upon the surface of a filmy cloak- 
like organ, called a mantle, which answers to the true 
skin of other animals. A sHmy juice, consisting of a 
membranaceous tissue, consolidated by an admixture of 
carbonate of lime, exudes from the glands of this important 
organ, and, thickening in successive layers, becomes hard- 
ened and moulded on the body, at first simple and un- 
adorned, but subsequently embellished according to the 
taste or inclination of the occupant. Each shell is therefore 
composed of animal and calcareous matter ; the first con- 
stitutes a membranaceous basis, which is equally curious 
and beautiful, being either formed of cells with hexagonal 
walls, or else of laminae, more or less wrinkled, like morocco 
leather. Shells which are always concealed by the mantle 
are colourless ; and those which are covered by the mantle- 
lobes, when the animal expands, acquire a glazed or en- 
amelled surface, like the cowries ; when the shell is deeply 
immersed in the foot of the animal it becomes partly 
glazed, as in Cymba. In all other shells there is an outer 
layer of gelatinous matter forming what is called the 
epidermis, although it is sometimes very thin and trans- 
parent. 

Woodward well remarks that the forms and colours of 
shells (as of other natural objects) answer some particular 
purpose, or obey some general law ; but besides this there 
is much that seems specially intended for our study and 
calculated to call forth enlightened admiration. Thus the 
tints of many shells are concealed during life by a dull 
external coat, and the pearly halls of the nautilus are seen 
by no other eyes than ours. 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 269 

The variety in the figure, colour, and characters of sea 
shells is almost infinite. The most beautiful come from 
the Pacific and Australian coasts. The sun, by the great 
heat that it throws on the seas near the equator, would 
seem to have some efi"ect in heightening the colours of shells 
produced in tropical zones, and the nature of the food of 
the animals probably gives them a lustre and a brilliancy 
which are wanting in those of colder latitudes. 

It is impossible to enumerate all the purposes to which 
shells are applied, but some few may be specified. 

The shells of Strombus, Triton, Doliimi, Fusils, Mttrex, 
and BiicciniLin are used for fog-horns, trumpets, lamps, vases, 
and ornamental borders in flower gardens. Those of 
Bitsycon, Sycotyptts, Mactra, etc., by Indians in the manu- 
facture of implements. Shells of species of Mactra for 
ladles, scoops, and spoons, by fishermen. Those of 
Tridacna for vases, fountains, and in the manufacture of 
handles and carvings. The shells of Pecten, Haliotis, Den- 
talmm, Merceiiaria, etc., by the Indians for trimmings and 
ornaments. The scallop or palmer's shell {Pecten jacobcens) 
was used as a decoration of honour. Other Pectens are 
used in making pincushions and purses. The chank shell is 
used in the manufacture of Hindoo bangles, and in polish- 
ing or glazing cloth. The painter's mussel {Unio pictornm) 
is used to hold gold and silver colours. The shells of 
Placnna placenta are employed in China as a substitute for 
glass. Cytherea htsoria, the painted shell of the Japanese, 
with pretty designs on it, is used for playing a game. The 
cowries serve for currency in India and in the African trade, 
and for trimmings to various trappings. The shells of 
Mercenaria violacea. Purpura lapilhis, and Biicciniun nnda- 
tinn are used by the Indians of the eastern coast of 
America in the manufacture of their native money, and 



270 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



for modern wampum or shell beads for the Indian trade. 
The hyqiia or Dentalmm shells are employed in a similar 
manner by the Indians of the Pacific coast. The shells 
of Cyprcea, Rotella, Oliva, Ttcrretella, Pkasianella (Venetian 
shells), etc., are mounted as buttons and jewellery. Com- 
position shellwork for book-covers and frames is made by 
glueing various shells in mosaics. Calcined shells are used 
by dentrifice and porcelain makers. Cuttle-fish bone, from 
Sepia officinalis, has various uses. The opercula of some 
molluscs are used as " eye-stones," and polished and set for 
jewellery. 

In considering the manufacturing and useful applica- 
tions of shells, they might be conveniently ranged under 
the following groups : — i. The nacreous shells used for 
making pearl buttons and other useful and ornamental 
articles. 2. The pearly and iridescent shells, for orna- 
menting papier-mache work, making card-cases, folios, 
jewel-cases, etc. 3. Various small shells used for making 
shell flowers and different fancy articles of grouped shells, 
and for ladies' bracelets, head-dresses, etc. 4. The shells 
used for carving cameos to set in brooches, bracelets, neck- 
laces, scarf-pins, for studs and sleeve-links, and other 
articles of personal decoration. 5. Shells used for spoons, 
drinking-vessels, lamps, handles for knives, and other pur- 
poses of domestic economy ; for snuff-boxes, pipes, and 
such like curiosities. 6. For making the purest kind of 
lime when calcined ; for manure, in the form of shell sand 
and shell marl; and for making pottery- ware and a glaze or 
enamel, when crushed. 7. Shells are largely used for small 
monetary payments in North America, India, and Africa, 
and also as counters in games of chance. Lastly, they 
serve as studies of design, form, and colour for the sculptor, 
painter, and art manufacturer. 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 271 



There are other uses besides the foregoing, but at least 
these are the principal ones. 

Let us pass on now to speak first of the shells used for 
carving cameos, and those employed to form articles of 
personal decoration. 

Of the quantities imported for this purpose we can 
obtain no reliable details. The shells come over in bags, 
and every now and then the City brokers announce a sale 
of bull's mouth, helmet shells, queen conchs, etc., but no 
aggregate records are kept of the numbers. 

To show, however, the extent of the trade in shells, 
here are the particulars of the sales advertised on one day 
in London (October loth, 1871), by various City brokers: — 

By Lewis and Peat — 

275 cases Bombay M.O.P.* 

43 5 J Egyptian „ 
6 ,, Gambia 
262 Panama 

45 of cowries 

81 packages fancy shells 
195 cases Japan ear shells. 

By Ellis and Hale — 

140 cases and 6 casks of M.O.P. from Fremantle. 

8 and 27 serons M.O.P. Bombay. 
211 „ cases of cowries. 
24 tons of Japan ear shells. 

By Price, Hickman and Co. — 

18 cases Bombay M.O.P, 

By Bowyer and Bartlett — 

41 cases M.O.P. 
6000 conch shells. 
1400 helmet shells. 



* The trade abbreviation for mother-of-pearl. 



272 The Commeixial Products of the Sea. 



By Brooks and Faith — 

84 baskets, 13 bags, and 10,000 loose green snail. 
230 packages and 10 tons of loose Japan ear shells. 
12,000 turbos. 

By Donald Gray and Sons — 

39 cases Manila and 51 cases Bombay M.O. P. 
I case red shank shells. 

By John Griffin and Son — 

194 cases Bombay M.O.P, 
381 bags Maldive cowries. 
5 tons Japan green ear. 

Most of the univalve shells are of the character called 
porcelanous, from their brittleness, translucence, and the 
resemblance of their fracture to that of porcelain. But this 
fracture, Avhen examined by a microscope, reveals a struc- 
ture of thick parallel layers, usually of a fine fibrous nature, 
at right angles to the external surface. The soluble part 
of these shells is carbonate of lime, the particles of which 
are cemented together with a very minute proportion of 
animal mucus. The hard and compact nature of such 
shells, and their generally smooth surface, prevent their 
being cut by the ordinary tools which are available for the 
less hard and frangible nacreous shells ; it is, therefore, 
necessary to treat them with emery, rotten-stone, and other 
substances harder than themselves. 

Such shells generally require rather to be polished than 
cut, but where it is necessary to divide them, in order to 
exhibit their sections, they are operated upon by means of 
the slicer with diamond powder. 

Certain description of these shells are well adapted for 
cameo-cutting, from their substance being made up of dif- 
ferently coloured layers, and also from a difference of hard- 
ness and texture in the various layers, some approaching 



Industrial and ManufadMring Uses of Shells. 2 73 

more nearly to the nature of nacreous than of porcelanous 
material. 

The word cameo, derived from an Arab word, signifying 
bas-relief, was originally restricted to hard stones, such as 
onyx, sardonyx, etc., engraved in relief; but the name has 
since been extended to gems cut on shell, lava, and other 
substances. 

The good workman always carefully puts his work on 
the shell in such a manner that the direction of the laminae 
of the central coat is longitudinal. In cameos the central 
layer forms the body of the relief, the inner layer being the 
ground, and the outer the third or superficial colour, which 
is sometimes used to give a varied appearance to the sur- 
face of the figufe. The cameo-cutter selects from the 
shells which have the three layers : — i. Those which have 
the layers strongly adherent together, for if they separate 
his labour is lost ; 2. Those in which the middle layer is 
thick ; 3. Those in which there is a good distinction of 
colour between the layers ; and 4. Those in which the 
inner layer is of the colour suited to his purpose. 

The kinds now employed, and which experience has 
taught him are best for his purpose, are — i. The bull's 
mouth (Cassis rtcfa), which has a red inner coat, or what is 
called a sardonyx ground. The shell is red with several 
series of thick knobs, the outer lip deep yellowish red. 
2. The black helmet {C. Madagascariensis), which has a 
blackish inner coat, or what is called an onyx ground, and 
shows up white upon a dark claret colour. The shell is 
often nearly a foot long. 3. The horned helmet {C. 
cornuta), white with an orange yellow ground ; and 4. The 
queen conch {StrombiLs gigas), with a pink ground. This 
shell is about 10 inches long, aperture rose-coloured, lip ex- 
tremely broad, rounded above. S. pugilis, another species, 

T 



2 74 Co7nmercial Prodtccts of the Sea. 

is a turbinate shell, reddish and yellow, lip rose-coloured 
without and striated. The bull's mouth and black helmet 
are the best shells, for the horned helmet is apt to separate 
from the ground, or to " double," as the French workmen 
call it ; the queen conch has the two colours seldom 
distinctly marked from each other, and the pink of the 
ground flies by exposure to the light. The red colour 
of the bull's mouth only extends a small distance in the 
mouth of the shell, becoming paler as it proceeds back- 
ward, as may be observed by the pale side generally to 
be seen in such red-grounded cameos. Hence, the bull's 
mouth affords only a single cameo large enough for a 
brooch, and several small pieces for shirt-studs, while the 
black helmet furnishes on an average about five brooches 
and several stud-pieces. The queen conch yields only a 
single good piece. Cassis flammea, about six inches long, 
and C. deatssata and C. titberosa^ white upon a dark claret 
colour, are occasionally used. 

The bull's mouth shells are brought from India and 
Ceylon, the black helmets and the queen conchs from the 
West Indies, and all are supplied through the London 
market. 

Shell cameos, some years ago, were a good deal in 
fashion ; and even now a well-executed, artistic Roman 
shell cameo is an elegant work of art. Genoa and Rome 
are the seats of the best work, although many common 
ones are cut in France. In Rome there are about 80 shell- 
cameo cutters, and in Genoa 30, some of whom also carve 
in coral. The art of cameo-cutting was confined to Rome 
for upwards of 40 years, and to Italy until the last 26 
years, at which time an Italian began cutting cameos in 
Paris, and now over 3000 persons are employed in that 
city. 



Industrial and Maimfactmnng Uses of Shells. 275 

The black helmet, on account of the advantageous 
contrast of colour in the layers, produces very effective 
cameos, the carved figure of the white upper layer being 
strongly relieved by the dark, almost black, ground supplied 
by the second layer. The shell is first cut into pieces, the 
size of the required cameos, by means of diamond dust and 
the slitting mill, or by a blade of steel fed with emery 
and water. 

It is then carefully shaped into a square, oval, or other 
form on the grindstone, and the edge finished with oil- 
stone. It is next cemented to a block of wood, which 
serves as a handle to be grasped by the artist while tracing 
out with a pencil the figure to be cut on the shell. 

The pencil mark is followed by a sharp point, which 
scratches the desired outline, and this again by delicate 
tools of steel wire, flattened at the end and hardened, and 
by files and gravers, for the removal of the superfluous 
portions of the white enamel. A common darning-needle, 
fixed in a wooden handle, forms a useful tool in this very 
minute and delicate species of carving. The careful mani- 
pulation necessary in this work can only be acquired by 
experience ; the general shape must first be wrought, care 
being taken to leave every projection rather in excess, to be 
gradually reduced as the details and finish of the work are 
approached. To render the high parts more distinct 
during the process of carving they are slightly marked in 
black. 

Throughout the cutting, great caution must be observed 
that in removing the white thickness the dark ground is 
not damaged, for the natural surface of the dark layer is 
far superior to any that can be given artificially ; indeed, 
should the ground be broken up at one part, it would be 
requisite to remove the entire scale or lamina from the 



276 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

whole surface — a process very tedious, and much more 
difficult than separating the white from the black. In 
order that the finished cameo may possess a distinct out- 
line at all points of view, it is desirable to adopt the system 
followed in antique cameos ; namely, to leave all the edges 
of the figure quite square from the ground, and not 
gradually rounded down to the dark surface. Should 
this latter method be followed, it will be found that the 
outline is in many places undefined, owing to the colour of 
the white raised figure of the cameo gradually emerging 
into that of the dark ground ; this evil is entirely avoided 
by leaving the edge of the figure quite square for the thick- 
ness of one-fiftieth of an inch. 

The surface of the cameo should be finished as nearly 
as possible with the cutting tools, as all polishing with 
abrasive powders is liable to remove the sharp edges of the 
figures and deteriorate the cameo by leaving the form 
undefined. When, however, the work has been finished as 
smooth as possible with cutting tools, the final polish may 
be given by a little putty-pov/der used dry, upon a mode- 
rately stiff" brush, applied with care, and rather to the dark 
ground than to the carved surface ; this is the concluding 
process, after which the cameo is ready for removing from 
the block prior to mounting. 

The various styles in which they are mounted depends 
a great deal upon the country where they are to be worn. 

At the various international exhibitions which have 
been held, some very fine examples of Roman shell-cameo 
cutting have been shown. At the Dublin Exhibition in 
1865, Giuseppe Saulicini, of Naples, exhibited excellent 
samples of artistic workmanship, priced at from £2 to £4. 
each, representing, among others, Night and Day, the 
Virgin and Child, after Carlo Dolce ; Flora, from the 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 277 

antique ; Bacchanals, from a fresco found at Pompeii ; 
Peace, Medusa, Aurora, Ceres, and other subjects. Giuseppe 
Tari showed cameos with the figures of St. Paul, St. Peter, 
Michael Angelo, and Galileo. Luigi Saulini, of Rome, also 
showed 18 fine shell cameos. At the Naples Maritime 
International Exhibition, Domenico Pascoli, of Rome, 
received a first-class silver medal for work on shell cameos. 
At the Paris Exhibition of 1878, Francati and Sante Maria, 
of Rome, showed some fine cameos carved on various shells, 
and paritres and ornaments made from the pink-mouthed 
conch {Strombiis gigas). A fraud is frequently^'practised by 
cutting away the engraved part of old shell cameos, and 
attaching this to a base of agate, by which an appearance 
of onyx is obtained. 

Solid round beads are turned from the cameo shells 
and threaded for bracelets. Bracelets and sleeve-links are 
also made of the polished pearly TrocJms or Venetian shells 
of commerce. 

The shells of the cowry family next claim our attention, 
— a most extensive genus, distinguished, if not for their 
elegance of form, yet for beauty and variety of tints and 
richness of polish. This polish is preserved by the animal, 
while alive, enveloping the shell in the mantle or mem- 
branous fold. They are in general smooth, glossy shells, of 
great brilliancy of colour, and elegantly marked with dots, 
zigzag lines, undulations, stripes, and so forth. They are 
all, excepting the small British cowry, natives of the seas 
of warm climates. Many of them are very highly prized 
by collectors, and several are turned to use for ornamental 
purposes. 

The species of cowries principally used for bracelets, 
sleeve-links, or brooches and small charms, are Cyprcea 
uiidata, C. felina, C. asillns, C, ziczac, C. cribarea, and C. 



278 The Commercial Prodtids of the Sea. 

reticulata. Cameos are sometimes traced on the back of the 
blue-back cowry {Cyprcea moneta), and when linked together 
make very neat bracelets. Cowries are sometimes used for 
making an enamel for clock-faces and a glaze for plates. 

Cowries are largely dealt in for exchange purposes, and 
are shipped in quantities to West Africa. They are chosen 
for their bright enamel, small, even size, and not being 
mixed with spurious shells. Maldive cowries fetch from 
\2s. to 35^. the cwt. ; Dacca and Cuttack cowries, 6s. to 
22s. 6d. the cwt. ; but com.mon blue and dead shells, that is, 
those with no gloss or enamel, are only worth 3^". 6d. to 1 5^. 
the cwt. 

Cowries form no inconsiderable item in trade, two of 
the smaller white species being collected for use as a circu- 
lating medium, the true money cowry {Cyprea moneta) and 
the false or ring cowry {C. anmdd) passing current in 
many parts of Africa as mediums of exchange. One 
Hamburg house sends annually 14 vessels to Zanzibar for 
cargoes of cowries, with which they proceed to the rivers 
on the west coast of Africa, and purchase cargoes of palm 
oil or other produce. The following shows the imports of 
cowries into the port of Lagos alone, and a duty is levied 
on them of one shilling per cwt. : — 

Cwts. 

1868 ... ... ... ... 65,496 

1869 ... ... ... ... 56,040 

1870 ... ... ... ... 50,340 

Their relative currency value varies in different localities. 
In British India about 4000 pass for a shilling, and the 
erection of a church, which cost ^^4000, is said to have been 
paid for entirely with cowries. The ordinary gradation or 
value on the West coast of Africa is as follows : — 

40 cowries = i string. 
24 strings = \d. 
100 cowries — \d. 



Indush'ial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 2 79 



50 strings = i head of cowries. 

10 heads = i bag. 

2000 cowries = i head. 

3 heads = i dollar. 

20,000 cowries = i bag. 

In other places they are valued at about i^-. 3^. the 1000. 
Sometimes 60,000 to 100,000 (or from ^3 15^-. to £J \Qs) 
are given for a young wife, whilst a more common or 
ordinary wife may be had for 20,000 cowries, or 25^". In 
Sudan, much as the people trade, they have no other 
currency than the cowry, of which 2000 shells, weighing 
from five to seven pounds, are worth only one dollar. Since 
the recent expansion of traffic in that country, the cowry 
currency is already becoming an almost intolerable burden, 
which operates as a powerful check to the prosperity of the 
people. Although completely depreciated in the territory 
of the Upper Nile, cowries still form among the Mittoo 
tribes, between 5° and 6° N, lat, a favourite ornament. 

One of the most common and at the same time one of 
the most beautiful species, the tiger cowry, is frequently 
cut for snuff-boxes, made into ink-holders and ring-stands, 
salt-ceilars, etc., and has frequently the Lord's Prayer or 
sentences engraved on it They are often mounted as 
punch-ladles and spoon-bowls, made into whistles and 
other fancy articles, and shaped into grotesque imitations 
of animals. 

The skin jacket worn by some of the Bornean tribes in 
war is ornamented with small shells placed over one 
another, like scales or links in a coat of armour. The 
Dyaks stick small white money cowries in the eye-sockets 
of the skulls of their enemies, which they keep ; they look 
like a closed eye. In India these shells are much used 
to ornament the trappings of horses and elephants, and 
many of these cowry bands may be seen in the India 



28o The Co7nmercial Products of the Sea. 

Museum. Cowry shells are also strung like beads, or 
sewed like buttons on their dress by Brinjari women as 
personal ornaments, and are in circulation as money in 
the Hyderabad State, and in other parts of the country. 

The valuable cargoes of sandal-wood obtained in some 
of the Pacific Islands for the China market are, in the first 
instance, purchased from the New Hebrides by means of a 
shell — the Ovithim angidosimi, a white porcelanous variety 
of cowry with a violet-coloured lip — which is found in the 
Friendly Islands, but never in the sandal-wood region. 
This shell is so highly esteemed as an ornament by the 
natives of the New Hebrides, that for one shell they will 
give in exchange a ton of sandal-wood. The trading 
captains go expressly to the Tongan Archipelago for the 
shells, where they sell at a Spanish dollar each. 

As objects of decoration, certain shells have always 
been in great demand among savage and semi-civilized 
peoples. 

A substance pleasing to the eye, and easily worked, 
such as is offered by nature in the shells of marine and 
fresh-water molluscs, could not fail to attract the attention 
of men in the earliest times. The love of personal adorn- 
ment, moreover, already manifests itself in the lowest stages 
of human development, and shells being, above other 
natural productions, particularly fitted to be made into 
ornaments, it is not surprising that they were employed 
for that purpose in all parts of the world. The North 
American tribes made an extensive use of the shells of the 
seacoast as well as those of their rivers, and fossil marine 
shells were also employed as ornaments. The valves of 
recent marine molluscs, indeed, must have been widely 
circulated by barter, considering that they are found, in 
the shape of ornaments, and sometimes of utensils, in the 



Indttstjdal and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 281 



interior of North America, at great distance from the 
shores of the sea. 

Many tribes of North American Indians used to wear 
necklaces of shell beads, which served as money. They 
were called wampums. Those on the Atlantic side were 
made of the clam shell {VeniLs mercenarid). Those made 
from the internal purple part of the shell of Merceiiaria 
violacea, Schum, Venus merce^iaria^ Lin. and Lam., were 
most esteemed, constituting the seawan or warnpiLm, the 
specie currency of the natives. Six of the former (blue) and 
three of the white were equivalent to an English penny. 
The Dentalium, or tooth-shell, was another monetary tender 
of the natives of the north-west coast of America, known 
under the name of sarqiio. It is a milk-white, round shell, 
of extreme hardness, resembling the shank of a common 
clay pipe. It varies in length from one to four inches, and 
is about half an inch thick, hollow, slightly curved, and 
tapering a little towards the ends. They were valued in 
proportion to the number that, when ranged on a string 
passed through their hollow tubes, extended a fathom in 
length. Forty to the fathom was supposed to be the fixed 
standard of excellence and worth. Thus, their currency 
value was, in the fur regions — 

Beaver skin. 

40 shells, extending i fathom ... ... i 

39 „ „ ... ... 2 

38 „ „ „ 3 

These shells abound in certain places of the Pacific 
coast ; being open at both ends, they can be strung 
without further preparation. They have been found in 
the interior of the country, far from the Pacific coast, as 
personal ornaments of existing tribes, and even in the 
ancient mounds of Ohio. The latter fact, indeed, is of 
great interest in its bearing on the extent of former 



282 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



aboriginal trade-religions, the distance from the Pacific 
to the State of Ohio being almost equal to the whole 
breadth of the North American continent. The Dentalmm 
is also found in the West Indies. If it should likewise 
occur on the southern coasts of the United States, there is 
at least a possibility that the specimens found in Ohio may 
have been obtained from the last-named region. 

The term " wampum " is often applied to shell beads 
in general, but should be confined to a certain class of 
cylindrical beads, usually one-fourth of an inch long and 
drilled lengthwise, which were chiefly manufactured from 
the shells of the common hard-shell clam ( Venus mercenaria^ 
Lin.). This bivalve occurring, as every one knows, in great 
abundance on the North American coasts, formed an im- 
portant article of food of the Indians living near the sea, 
a fact demonstrated by the enormous quantity of cast-away 
clam shells, which form a considerable part of North 
American kjoekkenmoeddings. The natives used to string 
the molluscs and to dry them for consumption during 
winter. The blue or violet portions of the clam shells 
furnished the material for the dark wampum, which was 
held in much higher estimation than that made of the white 
part of the shells, or of the spines of certain univalves. 
Even at the present time places are pointed out on the 
Atlantic sea-board — for example, on that of Long Island — 
where the Indians manufactured wampum, and such locali- 
ties may be recognized by the accumulations of clam shells 
from which the blue portions are broken off. Wampum 
beads formed a favourite material for the manufacture of 
necklaces, bracelets, and other articles of ornament, and 
they constituted the strings and belts of wampum, which 
played such a conspicuous part in Indian history. Loskiel 
makes the following statement in reference to wampum : — 



Industrial and Manufachcring Uses of Shells, 283 

They made some of shells, which they highly esteemed, 
but they manufactured them very rarely, because this 
labour required much time for want of the proper tools ; 
and the beads, moreover, were of a rude and clumsy 
appearance. Soon after their arrival in America, the Euro- 
peans began to manufacture wampum from shells, very 
neatly and in abundance, exchanging it to the Indians for 
other comimodities, thus carrying on a very profitable trade. 
The Indians now abandoned their wooden belts and strings, 
and substituted those of shell. The latter, of course, gradu- 
ally declined in value, but, nevertheless, were and still are 
much prized." 

The great value attached to wampum as an ornament 
is well illustrated by the following passage from the work 
of Roger Williams, who emigrated to North America in 
163 1 : — "They hang these strings of money about their 
necks and wrists, as also upon the necks and wrists of 
their wives and children. Mdchequoce, a girdle ; which they 
make curiously, of one, two, three, four, and five inches 
thickness and more, of this money, which (sometimes to the 
value of ;^io and more) they wear about their middle 
and as a scarfe about their shoulders and breasts. Yea, 
the princes make rich caps and aprons (or small breeches) 
of these beads thus curiously strung into many formes and 
figures ; their blacke and white finely mixt together." The 
wampum belts, so often mentioned in connection with the 
history of the eastern tribes, consisted of broad straps of 
leather, upon which white and blue wampum beads were 
sewed in rows, being so arranged that by the contrast of 
the light and dark colours certain figures, were produced. 
The Indians, it is well known, exchanged these belts at the 
conclusion of peace, and on other solemn occasions, in 
order to ratify the transaction and to perpetuate the remem- 



284 The Coimitercial Products of the Sea. 

brance of the event. When sharp admonitions or threaten- 
ing demonstrations were deemed necessary, the wampum 
belts likewise played a part, and they were even sent as 
challenges of Avar. In these various cases the arrangement 
of the colours and figures of the belts corresponded to the 
object in view : on peaceable occasions the white colour 
predominated ; if the complications were of a serious 
character, the dark prevailed ; and in the case of a declara- 
tion of war, it is stated the belt V\^as entirely of a sombre 
hue, and, moreover, covered with red paint, while there 
appeared in the middle the figure of a hatchet executed 
in white. 

Large quantities of shell ornaments, mostly destined to 
be strung together or to be worn as pendants, have been 
found in the sepulchral mounds and other burial-places of 
the Indian race. In Ohio, according to Messrs. Squier and 
Davis, beads made of shell and other materials occur even 
more frequently in the sacrificial mounds than in those of a 
sepulchral character, a circumstance that may be accounted 
for by the value attached to those objects by their owners, 
who deemed them worthy of being offered in their sacrifi- 
cial rites. The methods employed by the manufacturers 
doubtless being of the most primitive character, each shell 
bead was the result of a certain amount of patient labour, 
and consequently was esteemed according to the time and 
art bestowed on its production. 

The Indian shell ornament in its simplest form con- 
sisted of entire specimens of small marine univalves, such 
as Marginella, Natica, and Oliva, which, after being con- 
veniently pierced, could be strung together at once without 
further preparation, and worn as necklaces, etc. The above- 
mentioned kinds were met by Squier and Davis in the 
mounds of Ohio, and in opening the Grave Creek mound 



Indust7dal aiid Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 285 

500 specimens oi Marginella were obtained near one of the 
skeletons. Yet the number of entire sea-shells employed 
as beads by the natives appears insignificant, when com- 
pared with the enormous quantity of objects of the same 
class which they manufactured from fragments of the 
valves of marine and fluviatile shells. These wrought 
beads exhibit various forms and sizes, but are mostly found 
in the shape of more or less regular sections of cylinders, 
pierced through the centre. 

They are often proportionately thick, but sometimes 
rather thin, resembling the small bone buttons of com- 
merce. Most of them are small, not exceeding six or seven 
millimetres in diameter ; the largest species, however, have 
a diameter of no less than 28 millimetres. 

The largest, and therefore the most esteemed, beads and 
pendants were made by the Indians from the colmiiellce, or, 
as Cabega de Vaca expressed it, from the " hearts," of large 
conchs, among which the Strombiis gigas seems to have 
been most frequently used. These beads are more or less 
cylindrical or globular, and always drilled lengthwise. 
Some are tapering at both ends, resembling a cigar in 
shape, and were two and a half inches in length. The 
aborigines also made from the colii^nellce of large marine 
univalves peculiar pin-shaped articles, consisting of a more 
or less massive stem, which terminates in a round knob. 

Calcined shells furnish the purest lime, and it is the 
kind which, under the name of " chunam," is so largely 
used in the East as an ingredient with the areca-nut and 
betel-leaf masticatory. 

For the purpose of the agriculturist, shell-sand and 
shell-marl, when obtainable, are highly valuable as ferti- 
lizers ; and crushed shells are used for covering the path- 
ways in our parks and the walks in our gardens, for 
making fine pottery, and other purposes. 



2 86 The Commercial P7^odiLcts of the Sea. 

Lastly, the uses of shells as studies of design, form, and 
colour to the sculptor, painter, architect, and art manu- 
facturer, may be seen in various parts of the South Ken- 
sington Museum. 

Lamarck long ago recommended to the attentive study 
of the architect the extreme diversity of the protuberant 
parts on the surface of shells, as well as the regularity and 
elegance of their distribution. There is no possible form of 
which nature does not offer examples. Architecture would 
find in many of the species of the genus Cerithiinn, even 
to those of Pleitrotomis and spirals, a choice of models for 
the adornment of columns, and these models would be 
found very worthy of being employed. 

Shells were the favourite objects of ornamentation of 
the older wood-carvers, as evidenced in the fireplaces of 
many ancient mansions. The famous garoon pattern, so 
much used formerly by silversmiths, is said to be derived 
from the edge of the trumpet shell {Triton femorale), which 
is called the garoon shell. 

There are many other industrial uses of shells, but those 
enumerated may be considered the principal ones. 

Mother-of-pearl, and other nacreous shells, will be 
noticed in a separate chapter. 

The aggregate value of the imports of foreign shells, in 
the last few years, may be taken at 50,000. It is some- 
what difficult to arrive at any correct estimate on this 
subject, because shells are scarcely particularized in the 
Board of Trade returns. Classified under the head of raw 
materials which come in " duty free " for the use of manu- 
facturers, the officials are very indifferent as to the nature 
of the imports ; and thus we have no account of the rough 
cameo shells, the snail and ear shells, the Miirices, and 
others which are received in large quantities. When shells 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 287 

were subject to an import duty, varying from 5 to 20 per 
cent., it was necessary that the entries should be more 
specifically detailed. 

Large quantities of shells, which are used for different 
manufacturing purposes, come in under the broad, general 
heading of " specimens of natural history." The only 
specific mention of shells in the Parliamentary trade returns 
are mother-of-pearl, cowries, and cameos unset, besides 
pearls, — the well-known and valued product of the pearl 
oyster. 

The imports and value, as far as officially stated, in 
1870 were : — 

Mother-of-pearl, 26,197 cwts. ... ••■ £l^A^9 

Cowries, 6ii8 cwts. ... ... ... 6,347 

Cameos, not set ... ... ... 3,445 

Miscellaneous shells for collectors, dealers, 

and manufacturers, about ... ... 14,000 

Pearls ... ... ... ... 16,675 

;^ii6,956 

These figures were much below the average. 

The use of shells is not restricted to this country. They 
are employed for manufacturing purposes in China and 
India, in France, Italy, Germany, and other parts of the 
continent of Europe, and also in North America ; so that 
the subject we have been considering takes larger propor- 
tions than at first sight would appear. 



288 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER XL 

INDUSTRIAL AND MANUFACTURING USES OF SHELLS — 

ContiniLed. 

Shell bangles or bracelets, made from the chank or TiwUnella species — Re- 
ligious veneration for the shell — Process of manufacture — The bangles 
described — Great clam shells used as benitiers — The queen conch, large im- 
portations of — Uses of nacreous and iridescent shells — Utilization of shells 
for economic purposes — Shell utensils — Shell flowers — Shell trumpets — 
Shell pipes — Pulverized and calcined shells — Ornamental uses of opercula 
— Dyes from the mollusca — Tyrian purple — Marine silk. 

Shell Bangles or Bracelets, — Under the commercial name 
of chanks, the large white, concave, heavy, porcelaneous 

Fig. 19. 




Chank shell {Turbinella pyruni). 



shells of the Ttirbinella pyriLm, Lam., the Voluta gravis, 
Lin., and T. rapa, are much prized in India. The shell is 
ventricose above, pear-shaped, fulvous white, with reddish 
spots in young individuals. 



Industrial a7id Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 289 



The shankh or chank is the sacred shell of the Hindus, 
and the national emblem of the kingdom of Travancore. 
The god Vishnu is represented as carrying a chank shell in 
one hand, and a chakra in the other. 

The Hindus believe that unless they worshipped this 
shell at the commencement of every worship or prayer, 
their offerings would not be accepted. Vishnu, the Pro- 
tector, is supposed to hold a chank in his hand. It is 
called Devadatta. Shankar, the Destroyer, according to 
mythology, possesses a like shell. The first incarnation of 
Vishnu, called Machhavatar (which literally means trans- 
formation into fish), was undertaken for destroying Shan- 
khasura (the giant chank shell), in order to regain the 
Vedas, he having stolen them and taken refuge under the 
ocean. 

The fishery for these shells is principally carried on in 
the Gulf of Manaar, in the vicinity of Ceylon, and on the 
coast of Coromandel, at Travancore, Tuticorin, and other 
places, the shells being brought up by divers in about two 
or three fathoms of water. Those taken with the animal in, 
and called green chanks, from having the epidermis on, are 
most in demand. The white chanks, or dead shells thrown 
upon the beach by strong tides, having lost their enamel, 
are scarcely worth the cost of freight to Calcutta. The 
number obtained varies considerably in different years, 
according to the weather and the success attending the 
divers. Frequently 4,000,000 or 5,000,000 of these shells 
are shipped in a year from the Gulf of Manaar. In some 
years the value of the rough shells, as imported into Madras 
and Calcutta, reaches a value of 10,000 to 5,000. A 
few hundreds . are occasionally imported into Calcutta from 
the Arabian and Persian Gulfs. The chank fishery of 
Ceylon at one time employed 600 divers, and yielded a 

u 



290 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

revenue to the island government of ^4000 per annum for 
licenses. The fishery is now free. 

These shells are often used as oil vessels or lamps in 
Indian temples, for which purpose they are carved and 
sculptured or otherwise ornamented. When the volute 
turns to the right, the shell is held in peculiar estimation 
— a right-handed chank being so highly prized for its 
rarity as sometimes to sell in Calcutta for its weight in 
gold, or at from £^0 to ;^50. In Ceylon also, the reversed 



Fig. 20. 




Saw used by natives for cutting segments of the shell. 



variety is held sacred by the priests, who administer medi- 
cine by it. This shell, from its weight and smoothness, 
is used in Dacca for calendering or glazing cotton, and in 
Nepal for giving a polished surface to paper. 

The principal demand for these shells is for making 
bangles or armlets and anklets, and the manufacture is still 
almost confined to Dacca. The shell is cut or sHced into 
segments of circles, or narrow rings of various sizes, by a 
rude semicircular saw, the hands and toes being both 
actively employed in the operation. 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 291 



The introduction of circular saws has been attempted 
by some European gentlemen, but sturdily resisted by the 
natives despite their obvious advantages. Some of these 
bangles, worn by the Hindoo women, are beautifully 
painted, gilded, and ornamented with gems. The shell 
rings are coated inside with plaster to smooth the rough- 
ness. 

Filagree-bordered edges of plaster are also added ; 
patterns and devices of red, blue, and gold are figured on 
them, and they are further ornamented with silver or gold 
tinsel, spangles, small coloured glass beads, etc. The larger 
bracelets, formed of many segments, are made to open to 



Fig. 21. 




Segment of shell, and bangle or ornamented bracelet of united segments. 

admit the hand, by two spiral pins, which unscrew and let 
out the piece. These bangles are not removed at death, 
and hence there is a continual demand for them, many 
wearing several, both on the legs and arms. 

These sa7ikka^ or shell bracelets, are extensively made 
for the women of the hills round Sylhet at Dacca, which has 
long been celebrated for the manufacture of such bracelets. 
Four of these shell rings are worn on each wrist. The 
shakhds, or shell workers at Dacca, distinguish the several 

The native word is variously written — Sungoo or Sankka, Tamil ; Shentoo 
or Sinkham, Telugu. 



292 The Com77tercial P7^oducts of the Sea. 

shells and their various qualities by the names Titkuri, 
Pati, Lalpati, Alabela, Dhala, Kulai, and Shurti ; the Titkuri 
being the best in quality of grain, lustre, and suitability for 
fine cutting and delicate finish. 

There is considerable variety in the patterns of these 
sa7ikka bracelets, from the rude broad, flat ring to the thin, 
delicate armlet, rounded, or with notched or beaded edges, 
carved with tigers' heads, enriched with ornamental incising, 
and illuminated by touches of tinsel, lac-colour, gildings, etc. 

A large series of these bangles was sent to the India 
collection of the London International Exhibition of 1872, 
accompanied by specimens of the shells both before and 
during the process of manufacture, together with the tools 
used, and photographs showing the men at work. These 
are now arranged in the India Museum, South Kensington. 

The chank fishery was at one time a Government 
monopoly in India, like the pearl fishery, and produced in 
the early part of the century a revenue of about £jOQO ; 
but as the divers from the coast could easily collect the 
shells, and as they were also procured by digging for them 
in the sand in the Jaffna district of Ceylon, the restriction 
was removed. 

A heavy porcelaneous shell, one of the largest known, the 
Tridacna gigas of conchologists, is much used for benitiers, 
or receptacles for holy water, in Roman Catholic churches, 
and for fountain-basins in gardens. It is the largest and 
heaviest shell known, for the pair of valves have been 
found in some instances to weigh 500 lbs. In its full size 
it has a byssus like a cable, by which it anchors itself ; and 
this has to be separated with an axe. The valves, when 
smaller, are sometimes mounted as salt-cellars, candlestick- 
holders, and pin-cushions. Cameos have also been carved 
on them, but their dead white hue wants the relief of 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 293 



colour. The hill Dyaks of Borneo wear broad armlets 
made of this shell, which, when polished by length of use, 
resemble ivory, but never acquire its yellow tinge. Two of 
these valued shell-bracelets on each arm are the favourite 
number with the women. 

In the " Voyage of the Rattlesnake " we are told the 
natives of Coral Haven wear bracelets of solid shell 
formed by grinding down the Trochus Niloticus, so as to 
obtain a well-polished transverse section, and another in 
two or three pieces tied together, making a round smooth 
ring ; of the former of these five or six are sometimes worn 
on one arm. 

The Queen Conch. — The S trombus gigas, or fou ntain-shell 
of the West Indies, fills up the earlier whorls with solid 
matter, and sometimes weighs five pounds. It is a favourite 
ornament in milk-shops in consequence of the delicate 
pink colour of the mouth. It is also ground to powder 
wholesale for the manufacture of the finer kinds of porce- 
lain, 300,000 having been imported into Liverpool in one 
year from the Bahama Islands, and used chiefly for this 
purpose. One vessel, the Crusader, brought home 5000 
of these shells from Nassau, New Providence, in the close 
of 1875. 

The nacreous and iridescent shells used for inlaying 
and ornamental purposes will be spoken of in the section 
on mother-of-pearl, but these may claim a few words 
here. The " green snail " of the dealers, the Tiirbo 
olearius, is very largely used for ornamental purposes. 
Slices of this shell, ground down to a thin surface, are 
employed for covering or inlaying various articles, such as 
small stamp-cases, little tablet-covers, fancy boxes, baskets 
with metallic handles ; buttons, earrings, and other articles 
are made of it, and very pretty ornamental stands, which 



294 Commercial Products of the Sea. 

open with a spring, enclosing scent-bottles or cigar-holders, 
and such like. Fashion has brought into use, of late years, 
handsome sections obtained from this shell, which have 
been largely used for ornamenting ladies' hats, for buckles 
for shoes, sashes, and waist-belts. The light-greenish 
iridescent play of colour of this shell is more ornamental 
than that of the true mother-of-pearl. Fine large shells of 
this species formed the drinking goblets of the Scandina- 
vian monarchs, and are often still met with, very elegantly 
mounted and set with jewels. 

Another shell of this genus, the Turk's cap {Ttirbo 
sarniaticiis), from the west coast of Africa, is used for 
making small articles, such as caskets, scent-bottles, 
brooches, etc. 

The ear shells of different species, principally the green 
kind, Haliotis iris, the common British, Haliotis tuberculata, 
and some Japan and Californian species, are much used, 
from their brilliant play of colour, ground down for inlay- 
ing papier-mache work, as well as for making buttons, 
studs, links, buckles, and earrings. Among other handsome 
species of ear shell, which are polished for mere ornament 
or trade use, are H. rufescens, H, splendens, and H. 
cracherodii. 

Sections of white cones, sufficiently large to go on the 
arm as a bracelet, are so much in request in the Pacific 
Islands, that dealers in Europe obtain high prices for them. 
Very often rare fluviatile and terrestrial shells are obtained 
from native necklaces. One of these necklaces was stolen 
from an aboriginal dressed figure at the Crystal Palace, the 
shells being worth to collectors several pounds. 

In full dress many of the Pacific Islanders are decked 
out with large white Oviditm shells, appended to the waist, 
elbows, and ankles. Necklaces of Natica shells are also 



industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells, 



295 



common in the South Sea Islands. Those made from the 
Elenchiis irisodonta shell were always held in high estima- 
tion among the aboriginal women of Van Diemen's Land, 
worn as ornaments round the neck and head. Necklaces of 
these are equally esteemed now by English ladies for their 
beauty and rarity. 

The bright nacreous play of iridescent colours, which 
doubtless first recommended them to notice, were brought 
out by partial decomposition and removal of the cuticle 
from long exposure, after being cast on the shore in a dead 
state. The natives effected the same end artificially and 
systematically, by placing them in a thick, dense smoke 
from green vegetable matter. Instead of employing pyro- 
ligneous acid thus accidentally obtained, they afterwards 
came to use vinegar and friction to remove the epidermis, 
and then rubbed them with various fatty substances until a 
brilliant polish was acquired. They also boiled the shells 
with tea and other astringent substances, to deepen the 
blue-and-green tints characteristic of the shells. They 
made small holes in the shells, by placing them between 
their eye-teeth and giving them a nip, and then strung 
them upon kangaroo sinews. But the last of the aboriginal 
Tasmanians has passed away, and no more shell necklets 
thus prepared can be obtained of them. 

In New Britain, San Christoval, and other islands east- 
ward of New Guinea, the fierce inhabitants adorn them- 
selves with necklaces of two very beautiful kinds of land 
shells, both being white, the one having a golden yellow, 
and the other a vermilion lip. Throughout the islands 
inhabited by the crisp-haired Papuan race, a large species 
of Ovidiim of a very pure white colour, resembling porce- 
lain, is employed with great effect by the natives in deco- 
rating their houses, temples, and canoes. One of the most 



296 The Connucrcial Products of the Sea. 



striking and really elegant ornaments manufactured out of 
shells by a half-civilized race, is a fillet formed of the nuclei 
or inner whorl of the pearly nautilus, and worn on the head 
by the Navigator's Islanders when going to war (4, Fig, 22). 
Each nucleus is about an inch in diameter, the external 
coat being removed, so as to exhibit an appearance of the 
most highly burnished silver. The shells are fastened on a 
mid-rib of cocoa-nut leaf, supported and tied round the 



Fig. 22. 




I. Money cowry; 2. Oi'/il/n/i aiig/iiosii/?i (sandal-wood shell) ; 3. Denta- 
Uum (money of West Coast Indians) ; 4. Fillet of nautilus shells (from 
Samoa). 

head by a cord of sinnet. The pearly nautili are not found 
at the Navigator's Islands, but are carried thither by 
European traders from New Caledonia and Fiji, where 
they are sold to the natives at the rate of about is. each. 
Occasionally many tons of these shells are brought into the 
Sydney market for reshipment to Samoa. The species 
chiefly employed in this trade is the Nautilus iiiacrocephaliis. 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 297 



Utilization of Shells for Economic and Decorative Pur- 
poses. — The next subdivision — the use of shells for spoons, 
drinking-vessels, lamps, handles for knives, and other pur- 
poses of domestic economy or ordinary utility — takes in a 
very wide range. 

The valves of the Anodonta escula are used as skimmers 
in ^x^2a\, and the shells of the Ainpiillaria serve to dip up 
the caoutchouc gum. The Africans on the west coast 
make much use of the large shells of the Achatina snail, 
shaped into spoons. 

Shells are still much used for scoops, spoons, etc. In 
many countries the great melon-shell and others are employ- 
ed to bale out boats ; to hold oil and a wick, suspended as 
lamps ; to skim milk ; and, from some unexplained custom, 
shells seem a necessary ornament or appendage in the 
window of the milk-shop or dairy in the metropolis. 

The less-civilized inhabitant of coasts frequently forms 
his knife, his hunting-spear, and his fish-hook of hard 
shell. In the latter instance it serves the secondary pur- 
pose of a glittering bait. The Chinese grind shells to 
powder, and use this powder in the way we do flock on 
paper-hangings. 

A small white bivalve shell (called Irego by the natives 
of Western Australia) is used for sharpening their spears 
when they cannot procure glass. 

The Friendly Islander wears the scarce orange cowry 
as a mark of chieftainship. The New Zealander polishes 
the ElencJms into an ear ornament more brilliant than the 
" pearl ear-drop " of classical or modern times, and, with 
the rainbow-lined, pearly interior of the Haliotis iris, orna- 
ments the eyes of his grotesque images, and inlays the rich 
carving of his war canoes ; and he also manufactures 
gleaming fish-hooks of the same material. In the Solomon 



298 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 



Islands the same style of ornamentation prevails ; but there 
they use the pearly coating of the chambered nautilus, and 
the nacre of the pearl oyster. Even the wandering savage 
of the north-east coast of Australia delights in beautifying 
himself with a spoon-shaped ornament filed from the 
pearly nautilus. One of the most beautiful substances in 
nature is the shell-opal, formed of the remains of the 
ammonite. 

In Caldera, Chili, a kind of scallop" shell, very finely 
marked with a delicate pink, is frequently used by the 
refined portion of the population, as a little dish to hold 
soap on the toilet-table. 

Scallop shells {Pecteii) were formerly worn by pilgrims, 
on their hat or the cape of their coat, as a mark of their 
having crossed the sea for the purpose of paying their 
devotions at the holy shrine in Palestine ; in commemora- 
tion of which they are still preserved in the armorial 
bearings of many families of distinction, whose ancestors 
had performed that ceremony. From its use by cooks 
now, this shell has given the name to " scalloped " oysters. 
In early times, when plates and drinking-vessels were not 
so plentiful as they are now, the concave or hollow valve of 
the scallop served as a cup, and the flat valve for a plate. 
The idea has even been carried out by our pottery manu- 
facturers, and plates and dishes have been moulded after 
the forms of bivalve shells. Reticules, needle-books, pin- 
cushions, and other articles are made by shell dealers with 
the scallop shell. 

The Mytilus, or mussel shell, has a few applications. 
When polished, they are made into pretty needle-books 
and scent-bottle holders, earrings, crosses, pins, and pin- 
cushions. They are mounted on marble as paper weights, 
and are used as a receptacle for gold and silver paint for 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells, 299 

artists. The Maories of New Zealand employ mussel 
shells as tweezers to eradicate the hair from their face. 

Some of the cockle shells are made into pretty little pin- 
cushions, and the shell-flower makers use them to form the 
hop and other imitations. Common cheap pin-cushions 
are made with the whelk and many other shells. 

Large quantities of small shells enter into trade use, for 
making shell flowers and different articles of grouped 
shells on boxes, etc. A great proportion of these are 
British shells, collected freely on the beach in many parts 
of our coasts, and most are sold by dealers under the name 
of " grotto shells." 

The shells chiefly used for imitation flowers in forming 
tulips, moss-roses, passion-flowers, anemones, hops, etc., are 
parts of the valves of barnacles {Lepas anatiferd), Dentalium^ 
Oliva oryza, Marginella, Strigella pisiformis, P kolas dactylus 
di.nd P . papyracea, Tellmas, Cardium, and others. It requires 
only taste in the selection and adaptation of suitable shells 
or parts of shells to form the petals of the flowers, and 
colour is applied to the shell where necessary. 

Mr. Mayhew, in his " London Labour and the London 
Poor," tells us that there are about 1,000,000 of the com- 
moner sorts of shells bought by the London street-sellers, 
at 3^-. the gross. They are retailed at id. apiece, or 12s. 
the gross, when sold separately ; a large proportion, as is 
the case with many articles of taste or curiosity rather than 
of usefulness, being sold by the London hawker on country 
rounds. Some of these rounds stretch halfway to Bristol, 
or to Liverpool. 

Many shells are used for trumpets. Large species of 
the genus Buccinum are employed by Italian herdsmen in 
directing the movements of their cattle, and a variety of 
sonorous sounds may thus be readily produced. They are 



300 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

also often used in North Wales by the farmers to call their 
labourers, and in Lithuania and Muscovy by the herdsmen 
to assemble their cattle. In the West Indies the common 
fountain-shell, a species of Strombus, is also used to call in 
the negroes from the sugar-cane fields ; the interval of 
"shell-blow," as it is termed, being the dinner-hour. In 
the East Indies chank shells are used for the same purpose 
by the Brahmin priests, and the great Triton {Triton 
tritonis) is so employed by the Pacific Islanders, who make 
a hole in the lip and then use it as a speaking-trumpet, 
The mountain-priests of Japan, according to Kaempfer, 
wear a kind of Buccimtm, a smooth and white shell with 
beautiful red spots and lines. It hangs down from their 
girdle and serves them as a trumpet, having for this pur- 
pose a tube fastened to the end, through which they blow 
upon the approach of travellers, to beg their charity. It 
sounds not unlike a cowherd's horn. Murex colossus is 
another shell often used as a trumpet. 

In the South Kensington Museum there is a powder- 
flask formed of a Murex shell, mounted in silver inlaid with 
acanthus ornament in niello work, probably of the seven- 
teenth or eighteenth century, and in the India Museum there 
is a powder-flask made of a Ttirbo shell, mounted. 

Of late among the curious uses to which the Turbo 
and some other shells have been applied here is for pipe- 
bowls. Uncivilized tribes have been before us even in this 
utilization ; for Adams, in his " Voyage of the Samarangl' 
tells us that among the Bashee group, and more particularly 
on the island of Ibayat, the natives form very elegant and 
commodious pipes from different species of shells, the 
columella and septa of the convolutions being broken down, 
and a short ebony stem inserted into a hole at the apex 
of the spire. Pipes of this kind are formed from the Mitra 



Industrial and ManufacHtring Uses of Shells. 301 

papalis, and others out of Mitra episcopalis and species of 
Cerithmm and Terebra. 

The beautiful shell of the NaiUiliLS pompiliiis is often 
mounted on a stand, with designs engraved on it, and used 
for holding flowers. The shell of the pearly nautilus is 
made into a drinking cup by the inhabitants of the East. 
The outer coating of the shell being first removed, so as to 
render visible the pearly layer, various devices are often 
engraved on it. 

At the first London International Exhibition, a curious 
specimen of patient toil was shown by a working man 
of the name of Wood, in an engraved nautilus shell dedi- 
cated to the memory of Nelson, the only instrument he 
had employed being a small penknife. On the front was 
represented the globe, with Britannia seated upon a lion, and 
possessed of the usual emblems of sovereignty, surrounded 
with a border composed of oak-leaves and acorns most 
elaborately engraved. Upon each side were a number 
of lines from Fitzgerald, commemorative of the victories 
of Nelson, so small, however, that they almost required 
the aid of a microscope to decipher them ; and on one side 
of the shell was a representation of Peace, seated on the 
prow of a vessel, pointing to the victories achieved by 
the hero. On the other was represented St. George and the 
Dragon. The head of the shell represented that of a 
parrot. The designs were most artistic, and the execution 
remarkably fine. The same ingenious artist had a short 
time before presented to her Majesty a similar shell, on 
which were designed, with the same rude graver, the royal 
arms, the Prince of Wales's feathers, the Great Britain and 
the Great Western steam-ships, with a full description of 
the same ; also several verses from Pope, amounting alto- 
gether to about 1500 words, which were tastefully en- 



302 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

graved in German text, old English, Roman, and italic 
characters. On the occasion of presenting the shell, a sum 
of money was put into the hands of the artist ; and a few 
days after, the poor man was astonished by the receipt of 
a large packing-case, which, upon opening, he found to 
contain a proof impression of Sir G. Hayter's " Coronation " 
picture, framed and tastefully ornamented with the rose, 
shamrock, and thistle in burnished and dead gold. 

The Chinese are very fond of having patterns carved 
on the nautilus shell, while the body of the shell is uncoated 
to show the nacre. 

The shell of an Anodonta is used for the bridge of 
musical instruments by the Mittoo tribe in Africa, and 
round fragments of shell are used by them for gambling 
purposes. In Japan the ladies play a game with the valves 
of shells with painted designs on them. 

Miscellaneous Products of the Mollusca. — In China the 
shells of a great number of molluscs, inhabitants of the 
sea, river, or land, are pulverized and washed with great 
care to prepare an absorbent powder, employed in erup- 
tions and for toilet use. The valves of some Unios, of 
Area granosa, and oyster shells are also calcined and pul- 
verized to prepare medicines prescribed in fevers, apoplexy, 
and haemorrhages. 

Opercula. — Many species of gasteropods develop an 
operculum or lid on a particular lobe of the foot. It may 
be composed either of layers of horn or of dense shelly 
substance, the principal office of which is to close the mouth 
of the shell when the animal retires within it. The 
operculum always exhibits more or less of a spiral deve- 
lopment. In some cases the spirals are numerous and 
nearly concentric ; in others, and these the most common, 
the new matter is added principally on one side, and the 



IndusUnal and Mamifacturing Uses of Shells. 303 

nucleus is then very eccentric. The spirals are invariably 
sinistral in dextral shells. Horny operculum — Biicciniim 
undatiim; calcareous — TrocJms and Triton, Turbo sarmaticus, 
T. marmoratiis, nodostis, Cookii, and torqicatics. Some of these 
coloured solid opercula have recently been polished and 
set as ornaments of jewellery for necklets and pins, studs 
and solitaires. 

The opercula of the screw or stromb shell, and some 
other species, were formerly officinal under the name of 
Unguis odoratiis or Blatta hyzantina. Small horny opercula, 
called Sheitam temah, are still used medicinally on the coast 
of Syria. The operculum of the whirl-wreath or Turbo 
cochins and other species form the tmtbilicns veneris. 

Dyes from Mollusca. — Formerly some valuable dyes 
were obtained from molluscs, of which sepia and the ancient 
Tyrian purple dye are examples ; but the abundance of 
mineral, insect, and vegetable dyes now available renders 
these valueless at present. Still a notice of them is worth 
attention. 

The colour known as sepia among artists is a liquor 
contained in the ink-bag of Sepia officinalis. It is of a 
powerful dusky-brown colour, and works admirably in 
water, being used in making drawings in the manner 
of bistre and Indian ink, but is not applicable with oil. 
This warm and sober colour has not, up to the present, 
been employed in the photographic impressions called " the 
carbon " process. Sepia is sold in little bladders, which 
have to be freed from membranes. This is very easily done 
by boiling it for a moment in chloric acid, which destroys 
the envelope, and causes it to become detached by tritura- 
tion with the hands in water. The bag or pocket, being 
light, floats and is easily separated by filtering. The black 
substance which remains is dried, after having been washed 
in hot water. 



304 The Commercial Prodticts of the Sea. 

When pulverized fine enough, this colour is used for 
water-colour drawings ; but its hardness makes it necessary 
to mix with it some foreign colour (sienna or the like), to 
facilitate the operation of pulverizing. 

By the following method this laborious crushing, which 
is always imperfect, is avoided, and the colour obtained 
very pure. One hundred and fifty grammes of potash or 
caustic soda are put into a capsule ; it is then placed on the 
fire, and when the potash is dissolved in the water, 100 
grammes of the dry matter are added gently, but keeping it 
in motion until completely dissolved. It is then taken 
from the fire, and after a few minutes a little water (the less 
the better) is added, and so on until complete evaporation. 
During this process an extremely strong ammoniacal odour 
is given ofi", and the dry ink has become soluble in alkali, 
but it is insoluble in water or in acid. 

There is great dispute as to the precise source of the 
celebrated Tyrian purple dye, so much used for the 
garments worn by kings and emperors of old. Some 
authors attribute it to the rock lichens or orchella weed 
of commerce of the present day, but the general and most 
probable opinion is that it was obtained from some species 
of Miirex (M. brandaris and tritncidics) and Purpura {P. 
patiila and P. persica), the animals of which furnish a rich 
colour. The small shells were bruised in mortars ; the 
animals of the larger ones taken out. 

In Britain there are several kinds of mollusca which 
furnish a dye of this sort. Helix JantJiina, which occurs in 
the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and South Seas, affords a 
similar fluid. 

If the shell of Pitrpura lapilliis is broken, there is seen 
on the back of the animal, under the skin, a slender, 
longitudinal, whitish vein, containing a yellowish liquor. 



Industrial a7id Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 305 

When this juice is appHed to linen, by means of a small 
brush, and exposed to the sun, it becomes green, blue, and 
purple, and at last settles into a fine unchangeable crimson. 
Neither acids nor alkahes affect its colour, and it may be 
conveniently employed in marking linen where an indelible 
ink is desirable. 

Linton, in his work On Ancient and Modern Colours," 
states that the PiLrpiirce of the best description were chiefly 
found on the rocks of Tyre, on the coast of Asia. They 
were also collected at Mininge on the Graetulan shore in 
Africa, and on the coast of Laconia in Europe. The 
colours varied according to the locality in which they were 
taken. Those from Pontus and Galatia in the north pro- 
duced a black dye ; in the equinoctial regions a violet hue 
predominated ; whilst in the south, as at Rhodes, the colour 
was of a richer red. These purple shell-fish were called 
Pelagia, and they were distinguished by the district, as well 
as by the food which the locality supplied. Two hundred 
Buccina were added to 1 1 1 Pelagia to make the purple 
colour so much eulogized by Pliny, and one of the three 
shades of purple recorded by the ancients. To make a 
purple dye, they also mingled several varieties of shell-fish, 
adding nitre, urine, water, salt, and fuci. But the dye from 
the Buccina required only pure water. 

Experimental investigations in zoology showed that the 
tint of the purple varied in accordance with the nature of 
the haunt in which the shell-fish was found. Thus, when 
it lived among seaweeds or mud, the juice it contained 
was comparatively worthless ; when amongst pebbles, its 
quality was much improved ; and it produced the richest 
purple when the food and locality of the fish were of varied 
materials. Researches carried still further proved that, to 
produce the richest and most costly dye which art could 

X 



3o6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

exhibit, the liquid of which we have been speaking must be 
used in conjunction with that which was procured from 
shell-fish belonging to other species. Some of the Tyrian 
garments had a beautiful play of colours, like the shot silks 
of our own time ; and this play of colouring, it is said, was 
first suggested to them by having observed a similar one 
upon the neck of a pigeon. With the destruction of the 
ancient city of Tyre, the beautiful art of dyeing this 
peculiar colour was lost for centuries, until it was again 
recovered by the scientific men of our country ; and the 
discovery would probably have been of much value to 
commerce, had not the use of it been rendered unnecessary 
by another natural history discovery, viz., the cochineal 
insect. This has been again to a great degree replaced by 
the discoveries of chemistry in the coal-tar colours. 

The Scalaria clathriis also furnishes a purple liquor of 
considerable beauty, but it is destructible by acids, and 
gradually vanishes by the action of light. The Planorbis 
corneus likewise yields a scarlet dye, but of still less 
permanency than the Scalaria, as all attempts to fix it have 
hitherto proved ineffectual. 

In the reign of Augustus one pound of wool dyed with 
Tyrian purple sold for about ^36 sterling. We need not 
wonder at this enormous price when the tedious nature of 
the process is considered, and the small quantity of dye 
obtained from each mollusc. For 50 lbs. of wool the 
ancients used no less than 200 lbs. of the liquor of the 
Murex, and 100 pounds of that of the Purpura, being six 
pounds of liquor to one of wool ; consequently the rich 
Tyrian purple fabrics vied in value even with gold. 

Marine Silk. — Among the many novelties which industry 
obtains from the sea, one of the most curious is the textile 
product made with the byssus of the Pinnas of the Mediter- 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 307 



ranean — the fin-shells or sea-wings, as they are termed. 
The species are the Pinna nobilis, etc. 

The shells, which are in general very fragile, resemble 
in form those of the larger species of mussels, being long 

Fig. 23. 




I. Pinna nobilis. 2. Pinna rugosa. 



and tapering, narrow at the back, and gradually expanding 
to a considerable breadth towards the opposite extremity. 
There are some 20 or more species of the genus, which 
produce in large quantities a very fine sort of silky byssus 
or braid. It is called by the fishermen lana pinna, or fish- 
wool. These bivalves are provided with a tuft of delicate 
fibre, which cannot be better compared than to fine hair 
or silk, or spun glass ; with this they attach themselves to 
the rocks, living continually under water. 



3o8 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 

The ancients made this an article of commerce, greatly 
sought after, and the robes formed of it, called tarentine," 
were very much in esteem. It is said that the scarf of the 
turban of Archytas was made of this fibre. In the year 
1754 a pair of stockings, made of it, were presented to 
Pope Benedict XV., which, from their extreme fineness, 
were enclosed in a small box about the size of one for 
holding snuff. A robe of this material is mentioned by 
Procopius as the gift of a Roman emperor to the satrap of 
Armenia. 

Even in the present day the fibre is utilized, but more 
for its rarity than anything else. The women comb the 
tana with very delicate cards, spin it, and make from it 
articles which are much esteemed for the suppleness of the 
fibre, and their brilliant, burning gold lustre. 

A considerable manufactory is established at Palermo ; 
the fabrics made are extremely elegant, and vie in appear- 
ance with the finest silk. The best products of this 
material are, however, said to be made in the Orphan 
Hospital of St. Philomel, at Lucca. 

At the London Exhibition of 1862, V. Dessi Magnetti, 
of Cagliari, showed byssus of the Pinna, thread, cravat, and 
gloves made of it, and Mariano Randaccini a shawl made 
with it. At the Paris International Exhibition, in 1867, 
Paul Montego, of Asti, Alessandria, also showed shawls 
made of this byssus. 

A considerable number of bivalves possess what is 
called a byssus, that is, a bundle of more or less delicate 
filaments, issuing from the base of the foot, and by means 
of which the animal fixes itself to foreign bodies. It 
employs the foot to guide the filaments to the proper 
place and to glue them there, and it can reproduce them 
when they have been cut away. Reaumur believed them 



Industrial and Manufacturing Uses of Shells, 309 

to be spun from a secretion in the foot. Poli thinks them 
to be merely prolongations of tendonous fibre. 

The Phina possesses a machine as incontestibly mecha- 
nical as a wire-drawer's mill. It is provided with an ex- 
ternal member like a finger, and this contains a glue, which 
the animal exudes at pleasure by means of a variety of 
minute perforations in the lip. This glue or gum, as in 
the instance of the common spider or the silkworm, having 
passed through these apertures, becomes threads of almost 
imperceptible fineness ; and these, when combined, com- 
pose the marine silk which is so much admired by the 
Sicilians. 

The animal first attaches the extremity of the thread, 
by means of its adhesive quality, to some crag or pebble 
of unusual size ; and when this is effected, the Pinna, 
receding from that point, draws out the thread through 
the perforation of the extensile member by a process which 
Paley, in describing the similar operations of the terrestrial 
silkworm, justly compares to the drawing of wire. One 
difference alone exists : the wire is the metal unaltered, 
except in figure ; whereas, in the forming of the thread, the 
nature of the substance is somewhat changed, as well 
as the form ; for, as it exists within the water, it is merely a 
soft and clammy glue, the thread acquiring, most probably, 
its firmness and tenacity from the action of the air upon 
its surface at the moment of exposure. 

This byssus forms an important article of commerce 
among the Sicilians, for which purpose considerable num- 
bers of Pinna are annually fished up in the Mediterranean 
from the depth of 20 to 30 feet. An instrument called a 
" cramp " is used for the purpose. It is a kind of iron fork, 
with perpendicular prongs eight feet in length, each of them 
about six inches apart, the length of the handle being in pro- 



3IO The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

portion to the depth of the water ; for, notwithstanding the 
extreme delicacy of the individual threads, they form such 
a compact tuft that considerable strength is necessary in 
separating the shells from the rocks to which they are 
attached. The tuft of silk is broken off and sold to the 
country women, who wash it in soap and water. They 
then dry it in the shade, straighten it with a large 
comb, cut off the useless root part by which it adhered to 
the animal, and card the remainder. By these means a 
pound of coarse filaments is reduced to about three ounces 
of fine useful thread. This is fabricated into various 
articles for the person, such as shawls, stockings, caps, 
waistcoats, gloves, purses, etc. The web is of a beautiful 
yellow brown, resembling the burnished gold hue which 
adorns the backs of some splendid flies and beetles. 

A very large mollusc, the giant clam (Tridacna gigas), 
found in the seas of the Eastern Archipelago, has a byssus 
formed of many tough threads, but slightly elastic, spun 
by the animal, or rather cast in a mould, thread by thread ; 
a gelatinous fluid being secreted in a long groove or canal, 
formed by the foot, which in the air rapidly acquires 
solidity. When complete, the united threads form a strong 
cable, adhering by the other extremity to the rock so 
firmly as to resist the agitation of the sea, and so tough as 
to be severed only by an axe. Marsden mentions one 
of these shells which was more than 3 ft. 3 in. long, and 
2 ft. I in. wide ; and specimens have been seen which had 
attained the enormous length of four feet. 



( 311 ) 



CHAPTER XII. 

SEAWEED AND ITS USES. 

Various uses of Seaweed — Seawrack for packing and upholstery — For manure 
— Kelp and iodine — Carrageen moss — Seaweed for food — Large employ- 
ment in China and Japan— Gelose — Other applications of seaweed. 

Seaweeds are largely employed in Europe and the ex- 
treme East in industry, agriculture, and manufactures. 

The marine plants are of much more importance than is 
generally supposed, and it is doubtful whether they may 
not yet be further utilized to advantage. Liebig, in his 
" Familiar Letters on Chemistry," says, " Every one knows 
that in the immense, yet limited, expanse of the ocean, 
whole worlds of plants and animals are mutually dependent 
upon, and successive to, each other. The animals obtain 
their constituent elements from the plants, and restore 
them to the water in their original form, when they again 
serve as nourishment to a new generation of plants. The 
oxygen which marine animals withdraw in their respiration 
from the air, dissolved in sea water, is returned to the 
water by the vital process of sea plants ; that air is richer in 
oxygen than atmospheric air, containing 32 to 33 per cent., 
while the latter only contains 21 per cent. The oxygen 
now combines with the products of the putrefaction of dead 
animal bodies, changes their carbon into carbonic acid, 
their hydrogen into water, while their nitrogen assumes 



312 The Comijzercial Products of the Sea. 

again the form of ammonia. Thus we observe that in the 
ocean a circulation takes place without the addition or 
subtraction of any element, unlimited in duration although 
limited in extent, inasmuch as, in a confined space, the 
nourishment of plants exists in a limited quantity." 

We well know that the marine plants cannot derive 
a supply of humus for nourishment through their roots. 
Look at the great sea-tangle, the Fiiais giganteiLS. This 
plant, according to Cook, reaches a height of 360 feet, and 
a single specimen, with its immense ramifications, nourishes 
thousands of marine animals ; yet its root is a small body, 
no larger than the fist. What nourishment can this draw 
from a naked rock, upon the surface of which there is no 
perceptible change 1 It is quite obvious that these plants 
require only a hold — a fastening, to prevent a change of 
place — as a counterpoise to their specific gravity, which is 
less than that of the medium in which they float. That 
medium provides the necessary nourishment, and presents 
it to the surface of every part of the plant. Sea water con- 
tains not only carbonic acid and ammonia, but the alkaline 
and earthy phosphates and carbonates required by these 
plants for their growth, and which we always find as con- 
stant constituents of their ashes. 

Seaweeds or fuci are used directly as manure, for the 
manufacture of soda, iodine, bromine, and some like Irish 
moss, etc., for the manufacture of gelose. Dried and 
pressed seaweeds are also used for ornamental ,or botanical 
purposes. In Scotland and other northern countries sea- 
weed is used in winter for feeding horses, cattle, and sheep, 
and is eaten by deer when other food is scarce. 

The beneficial effects in scrofulous swellings and goitre 
of the vegetable ethrops and of the sponge charcoal, 
which had been introduced by Armand de Villeneuve near 



Seaweed a7td its Uses. 



313 



the close of the thirteenth century, and the discovery of 
iodine in the ashes of sea plants, induced Dr. Coindet, of 
Geneva, in 18 19 to study the effects of iodine, and led to 
the introduction of that element into medicine. 

The Fucus vesicidosus, Lin., grows on rocky shores of 
the Atlantic on or near high-water mark. Formerly it was 
known by the name of Qitercits marina or sea-oak, its 
common English names being bladder-wrack, sea-wrack, 
sea-ware, kelp-ware, and black tang. Of late the bladder- 
wrack seems to have been employed to some extent medi- 
cinally in the United States. It has also been employed 
in France in the form of extract, by exhausting the plant 
with 54 per cent, of alcohol. 

There are two species in which a considerable trade 
is carried on — a lichen, and the sea-wrack or Zostera 
marina, vulgarly known there under the name of "pail- 
leule," which have become considerable sources of profit to 
the inhabitants. The moss or lichen is used by chemists 
and for making gummy preparations, and is even for- 
warded to Belgium. The Zostera marina is largely used 
for stuffing beds and chairs by packers and upholsterers, 
under the name of crin vegetal — in England, "alva." In 
1873 over 4,100,000 lbs. of this dried weed were sent from 
Granville by land and sea. As this quantity represents 
about two-thirds of the whole sale, the total may be 
approximatively estimated at about ^2,000 in value. The 
Zostera has the habit of the seaweeds, although belonging 
to another natural order. 

Algae and fuci are the scientific names given to various 
marine plants which grow at the bottom of the sea. They 
are collected on the coasts in different parts of the world, 
where they are found at certain periods of the year, driven 
by the currents and thrown on the beach by the waves and 
tides. 



314 The Comme7xial Products of the Sea, 



Many persons may think it strange that we should 
occupy ourselves with plants which flourish in the sea, 
when we possess so many useful plants on the land. To 
this it may be replied that very little is known of the con- 
siderable commerce which is carried on in various parts 
of the world, more especially in the far East. Hence we 
propose to publish, for general information, some reliable 
details bearing upon this subject.* 

In France, on the coasts of Normandy and Brittany — 
at Noirmontier for instance — large quantities of seaweed 
are collected. It is generally the species known to natu- 
ralists under the name of Filcils cotjiosils. There large 
numbers live entirely on the result of the harvest of sea- 
weed they collect each year. The seaweeds are largely 
employed for industrial purposes. Upholsterers and others 
use them for stuffing couches, stools, etc., in which they too 
frequently are substituted for horsehair. They are used to 
stuff" mattresses, especially beds for children, because their 
aromatic odour keeps away insects. Packers use seaweed 
for wrapping fragile objects. Chemists obtain from them 
a number of valuable products, such as saline matters or 
soda, chlorides, sulphates, silicates, iodine, bromine, etc. 

At the last Maritime Exhibition held in Paris, sea- 
weeds were shown dyed various tints after decolouration. 
This new application was to replace paper cuttings, the 
price of which, owing to numerous uses, had much advanced. 
The seaweeds, after drying, are pressed into bales of about 
100 kilogrammes. The colour is brown, something like 
dried tobacco. 

Employment of Seaweed for Manure. — The Chinese and 

* We quote from an interesting article on the uses of seaweed, published in 
the " Bulletin de la Societe d'Acclimatation of Paris " for March, 1878, by 
M. E. Renard. 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



315 



Japanese from time immemorial have recognized the value 
of seaweeds in agriculture ; but as the population of those 
countries became more numerous, and the adoption of the 
algae as a healthy food became better known, they at- 
tained a higher value, and their employment as a fertilizer 
was to a great extent replaced by other substances, espe- 
cially the excreta of towns. In Japan seaweed is often 
carried to the slopes of mountains to form humus to 
nourish trees. 

The services rendered to agriculture by seaweeds are 
well known and very important. Buried in the earth, they 
are converted by fermentation into an excellent humus, of 
great service to plants, and the cultivators on the coasts 
of many countries carry away thousands of cartloads. 

At Granville, in France, there is a large commerce in 
seaweed. The value of that used for manure cannot well 
be determined. 

In France the collection of seaweed is only allowed at 
certain fixed periods, while in China and Japan it is carried 
on daily. Still, the former plan may have its advantages, 
as it is known that it is in the midst of this exuberant 
vegetation of marine plants many species of shell-fish, such 
as mussels, scallops, etc., live. It is also the spawning 
ground of a certain number of fish ; and, finally, here the 
young fry and the Crustacea find a shelter from the voracity 
of the large species of fish with sharp teeth, such as the 
congers, bonitos, etc. 

The seaweeds form in the Atlantic considerable banks, 
especially in the part known as the Gulf Stream. There 
ships pass through large spaces entirely covered with them. 
Sometimes the banks take the form of long serpents, the 
two extremities of which cannot be seen. To these accu- 
mulations of plants the sailors give the name of Neptune's 



3 1 6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



gardens ; and the bunches of vesicular grains which sup- 
port these plants at the surface of the water, they name 
tropical grapes. Up to the present time these seaweeds 
have remained unutilized, doubtless because of the cost of 
transport. 

Some of the species of seaweed are richer in ash than 
others. The most generally diffused species, the Fucus 
vesiculosits, or bladder-wrack, seems to withdraw the largest 
amount of saline and earthy matters from the sea water. 
Pereira, in analyzing the ash, found in it nearly 20 per cent, 
of common salt, and 11 to 12 per cent, each of potash, 
soda, and lime, and 24I- per cent, of sulphuric acid. 



Fig. 24. 




Varieties of Seaweed. 

Fresh weed usually yields 16 per cent, of ash, or 320 
pounds to the ton of weed ; and each ton of ash would 
yield 18 lbs. of phosphates, iron and Hme, 38 lbs. of potash, 
and other mineral substances, making up a total of 164 lbs. 
of valuable saline matter, or more than one-half of the 
whole ash. 

Valuable as are many of these ingredients to plants, the 
application of seaweed as a manure has some remarkable 
properties which do not appear to be explained by analysis. 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



317 



The weeds are largely used in the west of Ireland, and a 
price paid for them far beyond their value as indicated by 
chemical composition. As a manure for potatoes they are 
hardly excelled. Along the coast of Cornwall they are 
successfully used for grass, cereals, and roots, and for apple 
orchards, spread round each tree. The broccoli, which is 
cultivated round Penzance in hundreds of acres, knows no 
other manure. From 10 to 20 tons per acre is the usual 
quantity applied. They act very rapidly, softening and 
decomposing in the soil so quickly that their effects are con- 
fined altogether to the special crop to which they are applied. 

On the French coasts on the littoral of the Channel the 
collection of seaweed is carried on on an extensive scale. 
It was officially estimated some years ago at more than 
2,000,000 cubic yards annually, or in weight about 2,250,000 
tons. It is collected in various ways, with a drag, by the 
spade, by a rake with long handle, etc., and loaded into 
barges, carts, on donkeys, etc. So important is seaweed 
there considered as a fertilizer, that a work was published 
specially devoted to the subject* 

The collection of seaweed, by cutting from the roots, 
forms a considerable source of employment for the poorer 
classes on the coasts of Brittany. It is only permitted to 
be carried on from the period of full moon in March to 
the full moon of April. The collection of the driftweed 
thrown on the shores is, however, prosecuted all the year 
round. 

In the Channel Islands the harvesting of the cut weed 
is carried on at fixed times — at Guernsey from July i/th 
to August 31st, and at Jersey for 10 days from March 
loth and June 20th. About 30,000 loads are collected 
annually at each of the islands. 

* '* Etudes sur les Engrais de Mer," par J. Isidore Pierre. Paris: A. Goin. 



31 8 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

Marine plants afford a large revenue for the manufac- 
ture of kelp and iodine. Kelp is prepared by burning the 
dead weeds till they are reduced to hard, dark-coloured 
cakes, in which state it is sent to market. Kelp is the 
only commercial source for the production of iodine, and 
its immense value in photography and in medicine has 
given an impulse to the manufacture of kelp, which 
renders it by far the most important of all the applications 
of seaweed. The average yield of iodine in Scotland from 
a ton of driftweed kelp is about five pounds. 

The proportion of iodine in sea water appears to be 
VQvy small, and it would require more than 30,000,000 
pounds of sea Avater to furnish the marine algae with one 
pound of iodine. 

The production of kelp in the United Kingdom 
amounts to about 10,000 or 11,000 tons; the manufacture 
is carried on in Ireland, the Western Islands, and Orkney 
and Shetland. In France there are many large factories 
at Granville, Cherbourg, etc. 

The manufacture of iodine is chiefly confined to Great 
Britain and France, for very little is produced in any other 
countries. It was attempted on the American coasts of 
the Atlantic, but the weed was found to be of too poor a 
quality. The average production of iodine is about 10 lbs. 
to the ton of kelp, and as it requires 20 tons of wet weed 
to produce one ton of kelp, the total quantity made repre- 
sents the burning of 400,000 tons of seaweed annually. 
At the present price the iodine produced is of more value 
than the alkaline salts, wdiich were the original object of 
the industry. 

Carrageen Moss. — One of the best known of the algae 
in commerce is the CJiondrns crispus, the source of carrageen 
or Irish moss, which is sometimes employed as a substi- 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



tute for size and in brewing. It possesses nutritive, emol- 
lient, and demulcent properties, and may be employed in 
the form of a decoction or jelly in pulmonary complaints 
and other cases. Bandoline or fixature, for stiffening the 
hair and other purposes, is commonly prepared from 
carrageen. The market supply for England is obtained 
from Clare and the west coast of Ireland. It used to be 
sent to the United States, where it is kept on sale by 



Fig. 25. 




I. Ulva latissima (green sloke). 2. Chondrus crispus (carrageen moss). 



most druggists. But it was soon found growing in im- 
measurable abundance along the whole Atlantic coast, 
from Nova Scotia to Long Island. 

Comparatively few are aware of its wide and varied 
use in the arts, or of the thousands of barrels of it 
employed annually by manufacturers of paper, cloth, felt 
and straw hats, etc., and by brewers. Carrageen is to be 
found more or less abundantly all along the North Atlantic 



320 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



coast, ranging between low-water line and the depth of 
40 feet or so ; but as a rule its fronds, which correspond 
to the leaves of air plants, are so numerously inhabited by 
small mollusca that they are spoiled for other use. The 
clean-growing article seems to be limited almost wholly to 
certain ledges in the neighbourhood of Scituate, Massa- 
chusetts. Here, where the waves of the Atlantic dash with 
full force upon the rocky coast, the carrageen grows to per- 
fection ; and, wherever it escapes the spawn of mussels and 
other shell-fish, is gathered during the summer season in 
vast quantities. The harvest begins in May and ends 
about the ist of September. 

The gathering is made in two ways — by hand-picking 
during exceptionally low tides, and by means of long- 
handled iron-toothed rakes at ordinary tides. Of course 
the work cannot be carried on except in fair weather. 
Hand-pulling is possible only during the bi-monthly 
periods of spring tides, that is, when the moon is full and 
again at new moon. At such times high tides occur about 
midday and midnight, and the ledges are exposed for moss 
gathering morning and evening. The mossers' boats are 
rowed to the rocks where the finest grades abound, and the 
gatherers select with care the growths that are freest from 
minute shells and other foreign matter. This portion of 
the crop, if properly handled afterwards, generally goes to 
the apothecary, and fetches a price two or three times that 
of the common grade. As the tide rises the pickers are 
driven to their boats, and proceed to the outer moss- 
bearing rocks, where the rake is used, as it also is during 
ordinary low tides. Moss taken in this way is not so clean 
as the hand-picked, and is always mixed with tape grass, 
which must be removed during the process of curing and 
packing. 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



321 



The preparation is the most critical part of this peculiar 
farming. On being brought to the shore the moss is black 
and unsightly ; it must be bleached as well as dried. The 
bleaching is effected by repeated wetting and drying in the 
sun ; and, as the moss is readily soluble in fresh water, the 
bleaching beds are situated near the banks of the salt 
creeks that abound along the shore. After drying, the 
moss is packed in tubs and rolled to the water, where it is 
thoroughly washed, then rolled back to the bleaching bed, 
to be dried again in the sun. Five or six such exposures 
are usually sufficient. On the bleaching ground the moss 
is carefully spread and turned, and watchfully guarded 
against wetting by rain. In this process it changes from 
black to red, then to the yellowish-white of the perfected 
article. When properly cured the moss is stored in bulk, 
in shanties, where, as time permits, it is picked over and 
packed in barrels. The crop averages about 500,000 lbs. 
a year ; and, owing to the brighter and more abundant 
sunshine of the American coast, the moss has a better 
colour and is of finer quality than the Irish product. 

The principal useful seaweeds occurring on the United 
States coast are the following : — 

For Food. — Chondrus crispus, Lyngb., commonly called 
Irish moss. It is abundant on the New England coast, 
particularly to the north of Cape Cod, growing just below 
water mark. It is gathered in large quantities at Hingham, 
Massachusetts, and sold for making blancmange, puddings, 
and sea-moss farina. It is also used by brewers for clari- 
fying, and by calico-printers. 

Scherzymenia edtdis, Grev. Common dulse, sold rough- 
dried in the seaport towns of the Northern States ; prin- 
cipally eaten by sailors and children. That found in the 
American markets is generally imported from the British 

Y 



32 2 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

Provinces, although the plant is very common in New 
England. 

Porphyra vulgaris, Ag. Laver ; eaten stewed in some 
parts of Europe. It is imported from China by the Chinese 
living in the United States, and even by those as far east 
as Massachusetts, although the plant is common on the 
Massachusetts shore. 

Alaria esculenta, Grev. Common on the New England 
coast north of Cape Cod. It is eaten in Scotland, but not 
in the United States. No doubt, Euchemia spiniforme of 
Key West, Gigartina mammilosa (often gathered by mis- 
take for the true Irish moss), the Californian species of 
Chondrus, and some of the species of Gracilaria are quite 
as good for culinary purposes as the Irish moss. 

Other Uses. — The sea-lettuce {Ulva latissima, L.) is 
used by owners of aquaria for feeding some of the marine 
animals, particularly mollusca. 

Many of the seaweeds are used as fertilizers. The 
larger dark-coloured seaweeds are roughly distinguished 
by the inhabitants of the shore as rock-weeds, or those 
furnished with small bladders or snappers, and kelp. The 
rock-weed of New England is composed almost entirely of 
three species of Pticus — P. vesiculosiLs, P. nodosus, and F. 
furcatiis. The kelp of New England is composed of the 
devil's aprons, species of Laminaria, the sea-colander, 
AgariL7n tiirneriy and Alaria escidenta. The rock-weeds and 
kelp are all useful for manure, and are either scattered 
over the land and allowed to rot, or else manufactured, 
together with other substances, into marketable fertilizers. 

The red seaweed {Polysiphonia Harveyi) is said at times 
to be washed ashore in Peconic Bay in such quantities 
that it is used as manure. 

The great kelp of California {Macrocystus pyriferd) 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



323 



forms entangled masses, which serve as natural break- 
waters on the exposed portion of the Californian coast. 
The leaf-blades of the same plant are used by sailors in 
high southern latitudes for rolling up into cigarettes. 

The very long slender stems of Nercocystis Ltitkeana, the 
great bladder-weed of the west coast, are used as fishing lines 
by the Indians of the north-west ; and lines made of Chorda 
filum are employed similarly in Scotland. The rough-dried 
stems of Laminaria saccharina, L. longifolius, L. Jlexicaidis^ 
and other large species of Laminaria, under the name 
of " artificial staghorn," are used for making handles to 
knives, paper-cutters, and other ornamental purposes. At 
one time an attempt was made to establish a manufactory 
of buttons out of dried Laminaria stems, at Marble- 
head ; but the attempt was given up, as the buttons did 
not bear washing. The dry stems of the Lamhtarice, 
particularly the digitate species, as L. Jiexicatdis, are used 
by surgical instrument makers in the manufacture of 
sponge-tents. 

Corallina officinalis, L., was formerly used in medicine 
as a tonic* 

In Ceylon a common seaweed {Sphcerococcus lichenoides, 
Agardt) is much used as food, and so is another species 
{Euchemia speciosd) in Western Australia. 

The Chinese import large quantities of dry seaweed 
from Japan, which they use in cookery in place of salt, and 
also as a vegetable to thicken soups. It is collected on all 
the coasts of Jesso, and in the inland sea of the environs of 
Nagasaki and Sinonosaka. It is an important article of 
export at Nagasaki and Hakodate, the price being from 
two and a half to four dollars the picul, or lOi". to i6s. for 
one and a half cwt. 

* Baird's Report on Fisheries. 



324 The Comme7'cial Products of the Sea, 

The Chinese " Herbal " mentions various species of sea- 
v/eed as possessing strong and well-known therapeutic pro- 
perties, and of special value in the dispersion of hard 
tumours, — goitre, for example. They have long been ac- 
quainted with the general virtues of the various species of 
Laminaria, and these varieties are mentioned as occurring 
along the coasts of the Eastern Sea, the coast of Corea, 
and the Malayan Archipelago. The great " Herbal " 
speaks of seven chief species. The people in the maritime 
provinces of China eat seaweed plentifully, both medici- 
nally and as a vegetable food, besides using it as a 
manure ; in this custom resembling the inhabitants of our 
own Hebrides. It is prescribed alone, chiefly in the form 
of tincture, its saltish taste having been first washed away, 
or it is mixed up with other medicines in various pre- 
scriptions. The uses to which the different kinds of sea- 
weed are put correspond with our own before the discovery 
of iodine. 

In the midst of the large islands of Java, Sumatra, 
Borneo, etc., and the thousands of islets known under the 
geographical denomination of the Indian Archipelago, the 
seaweeds, favoured in their growth by the warm water of 
the tropics, flourish in abundance. 

The Malays collect certain species which, boiled down, 
produce a glue or kind of gelose, known under the name 
of agar-agar, and of which China uses a large quantity. 

In lower Cochin China, the part most fertile, and 
which belongs to France, they collect the algae, to which 
they give the generic name of rau-cait, which is synony- 
mous with " marine pot-herbs." They are collected princi- 
pally on the rocky parts of the Asiatic continent, in the 
Gulf of Siam, the islands of Pho-Cok, Poulto-Condor, and, 
in fact, all along the indented coasts traversed at a short 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



325 



distance by the steamers which quit Saigon for Tonkin and 
China. 

There is another species of algae which has not the 
same utihty, but which has a certain relative importance, 
as it is used medicinally, being administered to patients 
in different forms of drugs, cataplasms, moxas, etc. This 
species is called hai-toc, or " beard of the rocks." It has a 
fine green colour. The filaments are very slender, and are 
agitated in the manner of a fish's tail by the least move- 
ment of the water. The large and immense roadstead of 
Touranne contains great quantities. This hai-toc is found 
at shallow depths, attached by preference to old pieces of 
wood, piles, etc. 

The Annamites designate the gelatine obtained from 
seaweeds by the name of tao. The Malays call it, as 
already stated, agar-agaj\ It is not prepared with the 
same care as in China and Japan, and is only shipped to 
China, in consequence of its low price. 

The Annamites give the name of raii-caic to several 
species of algae {Conferva corallina, Gelidiiim spijiiforme, etc.) 
which they collect from the rocks on the islands of Cu-lao- 
Khai (province of Binh Thuan) and Cu-lao-re (province of 
Quang-ngai). They are known in Chinese medicine under 
the name of hai-thao. 

Fifteen hundred grammes of raic-cau yield about two 
litres of seaweed jelly, which is much used for food pur- 
poses, after adding sugar, spirit, or other flavouring to suit 
the palate. This jelly also serves to make gelose, or sea- 
weed isinglass, which has been popularly employed of late 
years in France for culinary purposes, by confectioners, for 
sizing fabrics, and for preparing gold-beater's skin. The 
best seaweed is obtained from the island of Cu-lao-re. 
The first-quality gelose, known as 7'aii-cau-chon-vity is white 



326 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

and transparent, and costs £2 the picul of 133 lbs. ; the 
second quahty is only about half this price. The product 
obtained in Cu-lao-Khai is very inferior. 

Seaweeds enter also into the food products of the 
Cochin Chinese. They whet the appetite with them when 
highly seasoned with garlic, mixed with fish water ; and 
they form the celebrated sauce "Noachman," of a strong 
and repulsive odour, which is exported to all parts of the 
far East. 

China, with its immense seacoast, estimated to be not 
less than 800 leagues in length, is very favourable for the 
collection of seaweed, which grows in great abundance in 
the sea ; but the enormous demand for so numerous a 
population requires that the fishing should be carried on 
daily and without ceasing. This naturally tends to 
diminish the quantity obtained. 

The collection or fishery is carried on in small boats 
with sails of platted reeds. It is prosecuted from the island 
of Hainan up to the Gulf of Petcheli, as well as the islands 
of Formosa, Chusan, Lieou Keou, etc. These little boats, 
manned frequently by an entire family, occupy themselves 
not only in the fishing of seaweed, which they detach from 
the rocks, but in the intervals obtain fish by large bait sus- 
pended from a bamboo pole, maintained perpendicularly 
by a line below. The continued movement of the bait by 
the waves renders the fishing very successful. 

The second quality of algae is obtained in a less 
tedious and difficult manner, by means of hurdles formed 
of branches of bamboo ; they are the kind of fascines 
which the navigator notices in the creeks of rivers and 
islands, on the beaches and in the roadsteads, as well as the 
embouchures of all the great rivers where the tides reach a 
certain elevation. The seaweeds, borne by the passing 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



327 



waves at high water over these obstructions, are left behind 
when the tide falls. 

One cannot be surprised at the large and important 
consumption of seaweed for food by the people, when we 
consider that, besides the quantities collected on their own 
coasts, the junks, the sailing vessels, and steamers bring 
from Japan to China thousands of tons annually, to the 
ports of Shanghai, Tient-sin, Neuchang, etc. These bales, 
transferred to boats, are carried up the Yang-tse-kiang to 
the most distant towns of the empire, such as Ho-nan and 
Setchuen, and even to Thibet. 

For food purposes the seaweed, as in Cochin China 
and Japan, is mixed in soups, with rice, fish, and vegetables 
in general, and forms the celebrated cabbage pak-soeij, or 
pe-tsay in mandarin language. 

The seaweeds not only communicate to food the salt 
with which they are naturally impregnated, which is a great 
economy for the poorer classes, who have to pay dear for it 
the further they are removed from the salines, but also a 
certain aromatic flavour of the sea, which resembles the 
taste of dried and fermented fish, so much in use among 
the numerous populations of the extreme East. 

The English give to the seaweed gelose the name of 
isinglass, and the people of Canton call it tow-kao, while 
the jelly in a liquid state they c^\\ ghu-kao. 

This isinglass of the first quality is made in the form of 
filaments. The gelatine made with it is white and trans- 
parent, and is employed in a number of industries. It 
is used by bakers and pastry-cooks for making biscuits, 
macaroons, and confectionery ; by paper-makers ; in 
stiffening the light and transparent gauzes, in the fine silk 
which is used for making fans, screens, hangings, etc. It is 
on these stuffs, so well stiffened, that the painters produce 



328 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 

such beautiful designs in colours incomparable for their 
freshness and brilliancy. 

The second quality of this seaweed isinglass is of a 
darker tint, and consists of the deposit in the basins in 
which the cooking has been carried on. It is used, like the 
liquid paste obtained from it, by makers of paper umbrellas 
and parasols, and paper lanterns, to smear the fine 
stretchers of bamboo on which they are formed. When 
thoroughly dried, these articles of such extensive use 
acquire an impermeability of long duration. But, unfor- 
tunately, predatory insects are very fond of this size, and a 
single night frequently suffices to destroy these articles, 
exceedingly cheap and highly useful to all the Chinese. At 
Canton, as at Yokohama and Osaka, we find transparent 
sheets of gelatine made with this seaweed product, which 
are superior to those of European manufacture, inasmuch 
as they are not affected by the action of heat or moisture. 

The seaweed isinglass of Japan is a gelatine as light as 
the pith of the elder. It has neither odour nor flavour. It 
is made by macerating and boiling down dift^'erent kinds of 
seaweed, principally the Laminaria. The leaves are grated 
with sharp cutting instruments, which cause the green 
outer bark and saline particles to deposit. 

The seaweed is then boiled slowly for about 18 hours, 
and the mass left to cool, when it looks like fish-glue. The 
upper portion, which is the best quality, is turned out on 
boards to dry. 

The gelose of commerce, or Japan isinglass, is also 
obtained from Gelidiiim spiniforme, and is made in the form 
of small sticks, transparent, but of a rough aspect. Steeped 
in cold water, it swells considerably without dissolving. It 
dissolves, on the contrary, readily in boiling water, and forms 
a jelly on cooling. It is this property which has rendered 



Seaweed and its Uses. 329 

it a food substance. After adding sugar, liqueurs, or 
aromatic flavourings, it is strained through a cloth and put 
into moulds. Gelose is also employed for various indus- 
trial purposes. 

Under the name of mat, Porphyra vtdgaris, reduced to 
a jelly by boiling, is also used like gelose for food by the 
Annamites. 

The marine plants which are employed as food and in 
different industries in Japan are the following : — • 

The Am?i-nori {Porphyra vulgaris), which is found on 
the coasts of different provinces. The best is that which 
is collected at Sinagowa, in the Gulf of Yedo, province of 
Musashi. 

The wakame {Alaria pinnatifida), which is met with 
on nearly all the coasts of Japan. It is simply dried and 
sent into comrnerce. 

The kombou {Laminaria sacckarina), which is one of 
the principal products of Hokkaido. It is eaten in dif- 
ferent ways : boiled, broiled, or dried and reduced into 
straight or quadrangular strips. It is largely exported to 
China. 

Arame {Capea elongatd) is found principally in the seas 
to the south of Japan. When dried it will keep a long 
time. In former times this plant rendered great service to 
the people during a famine which desolated the country. 

The hijiki {Cystosura) is met with also in the same 
seas, and includes two varieties, one short and the other 
long. It is dried for use. That which comes from the 
province of Isi is the most esteemed. 

A.\Yo-nori {Emteromorpha compressa) comes from the 
same quarter ; that of the province of Awa is considered 
the best. 

Tenkusa, or Tokora tenkusa {Gelidiu7n conieum), is col- 



330 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

lected in the seas of the different provinces of Japan. It is 
dried after having been first well washed in fresh water. 
When it is to be eaten, the dry seaweed is plunged in 
boiling water and dissolved. The liquid is then filtered, 
to separate any foreign matters, and left to cool. It solidi- 
fies, and is then easily cut up into pieces at will. It is 
eaten generally in hot weather. 

There is another mode of preparation, which consists in 
exposing the jelly to the intense frost of a winter's night. 
It congeals and hardens, and then bears the name of 
" kanten,'' and may be kept till the following summer. It 
is employed for making pastry, and cooks use it for pre- 
paring certain dishes. Besides its alimentary uses, this 
seaweed serves to make paper and many other things. 

Hondawara {^Halochloa macranthd) is found on the sea- 
coasts of many provinces. It is salted and eaten with 
vinegar. 

Tosaka-nori (Kallimenia dentatd) takes its popular 
name, Tosaka, from its resemblance to a cock's comb. 
It is found principally in the seas to the south and east of 
Japan. 

Fuiiori {Glacopeltix intrictd) is found on the coasts of 
many provinces. It is found in commerce in the dry state. 
When boiled and made into size, weavers use it to stiffen 
their thread. In ceramic work it is also employed for 
painting on porcelain ; it has also many other uses. That 
which comes from the island of Hachijo and the province 
of Satsuma is considered the best. 

Another larger marine plant, called tsunomata {Gimno- 
gongrus pinnatatiis), serves for the same uses. 

Som^n-nori {Neinalion vermicularia) is collected in the 
interior sea of Shitoku ; it is eaten salted, but can be dried 
in the ashes so as to keep it. 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



331 



Matsuba-;^^?^/ takes its popular name from its resem- 
blance to the leaves of the Matsuba pine. It is good to 
eat. 

Okitsu-;^/ : of this there are two varieties, a large 
and a small. It is dried after being well washed in soft 
water. 

Of mint {Codium tomentosum) there are many varieties, 
as the nagamiru, hiramirii, etc. ; the first named comes 
from the province of Awa, the second from Satsuma. It 
is eaten raw or salted, and may also be kept by drying it 
in ashes. 

Suizin-;^<?r/ {Phillederum sacrinn) is one of the famous 
products of Hiya ; it appears in commerce in the form of 
thick dried leaves. 

Moziiku {Mesoglara discipiens) is obtained in the seas 
to the south and east of Japan. It is eaten raw, flavoured 
with vinegar, or dried and preserved. That which is held 
in the highest reputation comes from the province of Awa. 

Japan is certainly the most favoured country where 
these seaweeds thrive with greatest luxuriance and abun- 
dance, and where the population carry on the fishery, and 
the collection every year is most considerable and pro- 
ductive. 

It could scarcely be otherwise. The territory of Japan 
is formed of four principal large islands, Niphon, Yesso, 
Sikok, and Kiusiu ; its superb sea commences a short 
distance from Nagasaki, bathes the numerous territories of 
powerful daimios, and extends up to the banks of the 
grand and populous town of Osaka, with its numerous 
canals, termed by strangers the Venice of Japan. If we 
add the 1800 or 2000 islands and islets which we 
find in the Sea of Japan, in the Pacific Ocean, and the 
inland sea, we have some idea of the harvest obtained by 



332 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 

an incessant fishery for these marine plants, as well as for 
fishes, Crustacea, mollusca, polypi, etc. 

It is in some of these deep seas, with submerged earth, 
the effect of the action of formidable volcanos, dreaded by 
mariners, that is found flourishing a much-appreciated 
genus of algae, the Laminaria. These often attain ex- 
traordinary dimensions ; some have been measured 500 
yards in length. This fucus is naturally detached from 
its holding ground when it reaches maturity, and its spongy 
nature brings it to the surface of the sea. 

The Japanese do not gather the seaweed in the same 
manner as the Chinese. In place of the fascines or hurdles 
already described, they drive large bamboos into the 
foreshore or beach, which extends out a great distance into 
the sea. 

On approaching Yedo, the capital, numerous stems 
of bamboo may be seen sunk deep into the sand, and 
disposed in such a manner as to permit the seaweed 
to enter when carried on by the waves at high water. 
Once entered, shaken and tossed about for many hours, 
the long and solid lengths get entwined and twisted about 
the posts, and when the water retires they are left dry at 
low tide. Then carts begin to arrive in great numbers, 
and the scene is most remarkable and peculiar in its cha- 
racter. The people of the shores, so numerous, hurry 
down to the beach — men, women, and children. They push 
each other aside, and scramble, with loud voices ; for the 
first who arrives has the best chance of collecting the 
treasures left by the sea, such as seaweeds, Crustacea, shells. 
When the tide rises and the waves pour in, the people 
return to their dwellings, situated in long lines on the 
banks. The collection made during the day is exposed to 
the sun and wind to dry. The women are occupied in 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



333 



sorting the weed. They chop the leaves off with a knife, 
cut them into fine strips, and heap them up into piles, 
which have the appearance of a heap of moss, all which 
occupies much time. 

Thus prepared, these seaweeds are the most sought after 
for food purposes. The common seaweeds, after drying, 
are formed into ballots, or small bales, by the men, and tied 
up with some of the stems, which are of great strength. 
These are then transported either to the towns and vil- 
lages situated a long way from the coast, or shipped in 
vessels to China. 

It can scarcely be doubted that at some future day, 
when our clever European cooks have at their disposal 
good, fresh, and young sprouts of certain species of algse, 
they will succeed in preparing useful dishes, which, in 
winter especially, will render signal service to the poorer 
classes when fresh vegetables are scarce. Again, seaweeds 
cooked and cut in thin slices, prepared as a salad, would 
be a simple and novel preparation. Prepared in the 
manner spinach is done in France, or with some sauce, 
which would remove the salt-water flavour, they would 
form a dish appreciated by all. 

In Japan, as we have seen, several kinds of seaweed are 
used as food, and form important articles of the trade with 
China. Generally they are natural products, which have 
only to be collected ; but in certain cases their growth is 
increased by some ingenious contrivance, devised for the 
purpose of producing their development under the most 
favourable circumstances. 

In the neighbourhood of Tokio, where the water is 
shallow, long rows of branches of the Querciis sei^rata, 
Thun., are placed in the bottom of the sea during spring. 
In June or July, small buds of a reddish colour appear 



334 Commercial Products of the Sea, 

upon the branches ; two or three months later, they have 
grown into soft round leaves, apparently similar to stems, 
and several inches in length. These stems now rapidly 
flatten out at the ends into broad leaves, which are taken 
off every alternate day all through the winter, until the end 
of March. At this period they become hard, unfit for use, 
and fall off during the summer months. The quality of this 
seaweed depends very much on the weather, and is best 
when frequent rains and falls of snow have rendered the 
shallow water more or less brackish. Too large a propor- 
tion of sweet water is unfavourable to the growth of the 
plant. A century or two ago it was gathered in large 
quantities at the mouth of the Sumidagawa, near 
Asakusa in Tokio ; but as the river carried down with 
it a large quantity of gravel, its mouth advanced more 
and more into the sea, and the water near Asakusa be- 
coming too fresh, the plant disappeared. Owing to this 
circumstance, the above-described mode of cultivation was 
instituted ; the weed, however, has preserved its former 
name of Asakusa nori. The branches oi Quercus serrata, on 
which the weed grows, are said to answer their purpose 
during three years ; after that time, however, the bark 
comes off, and the weed does not grow any more. 

Large shipments of cumboo or seaweed are annually 
made from the port of Hakodate, to the value of about 
6,000. It is divided into three sorts — the best coming 
from Shimani and Yokadsu, the second quantity from 
Akish, and the third from Kusudu. This article appears 
in the Hakodate market throughout the whole year, with 
the exception of the winter months ; and has two crops, 
the first from September to December, and the other from 
May to August. There is a good business also carried on 
with seaweed to China from Nagasaki and Kanagawa, 



Seaweed and its Uses. 



335 



about 80,000 cwt. being shipped annually from these two 
ports. At Shanghai the imports reach about 170,000 cwt. 

The trade in Japanese seaweed has year after year been 
assuming more ample dimensions in China. It is princi- 
pally made use of by the poorer classes. 

A very interesting product, called kanten or vegetable 
isinglass, a species of gelose derived either from Gelidium 
corneiun, or Plocaria lichenoides, is made in China and 
Japan, and has been imported into this country, in the 
shape of flat and moulded square tablets and in bundles of 
strips, under the name of seaweed isinglass. It is known in 
Cochin China as hai thao, and has been used in France 
in several industries, especially in preparing gold-beater's 
skin, and for rendering tissues impermeable. It is only 
soluble in boiling water, and it takes up about 500 times 
its own weight of the fluid. 

The mode of manufacture is as follows ; — The seaweed 
called tengiisa is carefully washed and afterwards boiled, 
so as to form a gluish decoction, which is strained off 
and put into square boxes. When cooled, it forms a stiff 
jelly, which can easily be divided into squares of a foot in 
length. 

The manner in which the surplus water is removed is 
most ingenious, and worthy of notice. The jelly prisms 
are exposed in the open air during a cold night, and 
allowed to freeze. During the day the sun melts the water, 
which runs off, leaving behind what one might term the 
skeleton of a white horny substance, which is extremely 
light, and easily diluted in hot water ; when cooled, it again 
forms a stiff jelly. This article, which is already to a 
certain extent known in Europe, can be applied to many 
uses, viz., for cooking purposes, for making bonbons and 
jellies, for clarifying liquids, as a substitute for animal 



33^ The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

isinglass, for making moulds used by the plaster of Paris 
workers, for hardening the same material — in short, as a 
substitute for all kinds of gelatines, over which it has the 
advantage of producing a firmer jelly. 

Another seaweed, much used for industrial purposes, 
is the fu, resembling the carrageen moss, and applied to 
similar uses, such, for instance, as the sizing of the warp of 
silk goods. 

Seaweed is not much used for food purposes in Europe. 
In Ireland, dulse (Rhodomenia palmata) is either eaten v/ith 
butter and fish, or boiled in milk with rye flour. The Ulva 
latissiina, or green laver, and the Porphyra vulgaris, or 
purple laver, are abundant on the British shores, and when 
boiled and served with pepper, butter, and vinegar, form an 
agreeable delicacy to many persons when eaten with cold 
meat. The London shops are supplied with it from the 
Devonshire coast. In Ireland it is known as " sloke." 

Tangle," which is the young fronds oi Laminaria digitata, 
is much eaten in Scotland ; and at one time the cry of 

dulse and tangle " was as common in the streets of Edin- 
burgh and Glasgow as that of watercresses is in London at 
the present day. 

Miscellaneous Uses of Seazveed. — Various attempts have 
been made from time to time to manufacture paper from 
seaweed, but they have not been attended with any very 
great success. 

In 1820 a patent was granted in Denmark for making 
paper from seaweed, which was alleged to be whiter, 
stronger, and cheaper than other kinds. In 1828 a patent 
was taken out in the United States, by Elisha Collier, for 
making paper from Ulva marina. In 1833 a patent was 
granted in France to Monsieur Tripot for making paper 
from seaweed. In 1875 two English patents were pro- 



Seaweed and its Uses. 337 



visionally registered for making paper from seaweed, but 
these were never proceeded with. 

Monsieur J. E. Brizot, of Toulon, states that to prepare 
paper from seaweed, it is necessary to pound the root part 
of the algae, to break off a kind of fibrous outer coating 
which does not bleach effectually. It is then washed to 
remove the sand and earth which are often found adhering, 
and beaten well, after which it is placed in a reservoir of 
water mixed with sulphuric acid. Seaweed is naturally 
tough and stiff, owing to the number of cellules which 
it contains ; to render it supple for paper-making, it must 
therefore be steeped in an acid bath. In taking out the 
stuff from the reservoir, it should be removed with a wooden 
spade, pierced with holes, so that the acid water may be 
preserved for use again. The paper pulp may be placed in 
osier baskets to drain off the moisture. The filaments of 
the leaves should not be employed for white paper, as they 
do not bleach well. After cleansing and treating with the 
acid as already described, it only remains to bleach the 
material with chloride of lime till it is of the whiteness 
required. 

Chevalier Claussen, when treating common seaweeds 
with alkalies, found they were entirely dissolved and a 
soapy compound formed, which could be employed in the 
manufacture of soap. 

A patent was taken out some years ago by Mr. T. Ghislin 
for utilizing dissolved and pressed seaweed, under the name 
of laminite, in making imitation horn, moulded for the 
handles of cutlery, for sticks, picture-frames, book-covers, 
etc. It was not followed up to any extent. 

The New Zealanders employ the large pods of a species 
of seaweed to store the whale oil which they use in 
the lamps of their sleeping houses. These, when filled, 

z 



The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



hold about a quart each, are tied up at the neck with flax 
fibre, and resemble in appearance a bottle of caoutchouc. 

The large dried hollow fronds of a gigantic fucus serve 
as water buckets on the Pacific coasts of South America. 
Water pitchers used to be made by the aborigines of 
Tasmania of the broad-leaved kelp. They were often 
large enough to hold a quart or two of water. These and 
the shell of a species of Cyrnba were the only vessels they 
had for carrying water. 



(. 339 ) 



CHAPTER XIII. 

MARINE SALT. 

Mode of obtaining sea salt — Salines of France, where situated — Statistics of 
production — Composition of the crude salt — Manufacture in the United 
States — Consumption of salt in various countries — Sea-salt works of 
Portugal — Salt manufacture in India a Government monopoly — Imports 
of foreign salt — Salt production in Cochin China. 

Another commercial product from the sea is salt, ob- 
tained by evaporation, which is produced on a large scale 
in many quarters, especially in India, on the coast of 
France, in Turks Islands, and other localities. To obtain 
this salt a certain quantity of sea water is collected in 
reservoirs, constructed on the seacoast, which are termed 
salines, or salt marshes, where it is evaporated by the com- 
bined action of the rays of the sun and currents of air. 
As sea water contains only from two and a half to three 
per cent, of salt, a very large quantity of water has to be 
submitted to evaporation to obtain the salt of commerce. 
Notwithstanding this, the operations are carried on upon 
so large a scale, and the work is so arranged, that the salt 
is produced at a very moderate price. 

France has about 82 salines, or salt marshes, occupying 
a surface of about 48,500 acres. These are situated, one 



340 The Coinmercial Proditcts of the Sea. 



on the Channel coast, 36 on the shores of the ocean, and 
45 on the coasts of the Mediterranean. These consist of 
one or more reservoirs, into which the sea water is passed. 
Those of the south are greatly superior to the others, be- 
cause they are better managed, and the climate is more 
favourable for evaporation. 

The sea water is introduced, either by means of a canal 
of the level of the sea banks, or by means of hydraulic 
machines in other cases, into a reservoir, which is shallow 
and of great extent of surface, so that the liquid may be 
subjected to the action of the sun's rays. In this reservoir, 
when the evaporation commences, the w^ater passes off 
slowly into a series of rectangular basins, less deep, where it 
continues to concentrate, after which it passes into a trench 
which conducts it to the great wells, called the wells of 
green water. Pumps then raise it into a second trench, 
by which it is carried into another series of evaporating 
basins, called interior heaters, from which it passes into the 
reservoir, and from thence by a third trench into more 
wells, called the salt wells. Here the sea water marks 
22° to 24° of Beaume's areometer. The pumps then pass 
it into a fourth trench, which carries it into new basins, 
smaller than the preceding ones, called salt tables. In 
these tables, where the liquid mass is not above five or six 
centimetres of depth, the salt is deposited. When the 
principal part of the water has left the product, the water 
is carried off by the canal to the sea, and a fresh quantity 
of condensed salt-water is brought into the salt-pans. 
The water is renewed daily or every two da}'s, and this 
operation is carried on during all the fine weather, that is, 
from April to September. When the bed of salt is of the 
thickness of four or five centimetres, it is collected or 
shovelled up. For this purpose the masses of salt are left 



Marine Salt. 



341 



to dry, and then collected with spades into long- heaps or 
piles, which are called camelles. This operation is only 
carried on two or three tinaes during the season. Finally, 
after long drainage, the heaped salt has parted with all its 
water, and is ready for passing into conimerce. 

The salt of the salines of the Mediterranean is in the 
form of very large and white crystals, and of a very fine 
purity. That of the salt marshes of the ocean is in the 
form of small grey crystals, and known in commerce as 
grey salt. It owes this colour to the earthy particles be- 
longing to the basins, where it is collected daily. 

To convert it into white salt it has either to be washed 
or refined, in order to remove the foreign substances which 
it contains. By the first process it is merely washed with 
water saturated with pure salt, after which it is drained 
and dried in stoves. By the second process, and by which 
very fine and white table salt is prepared, the grey salt is 
dissolved in ordinary water; the magnesia contained in 
the solution is precipitated with lime ; it is then filtered and 
evaporated in shallow boilers. 

The salt marshes worked in France are in the Bouches- 
du-Rhone, and on the borders of the ocean, principally at 
the island of Re, in the Landes, Charente-Inferieure, and 
Loire-Inferieure. As the production of the salt marshes is 
variable, the price of salt also fluctuates. The average may 
be taken at 2\ francs per 100 kilogrammes, to which has to 
be added \2\ francs duty, bringing up the price to 1 5 francs. 
According to the official statistics, the consumption of table 
salt in France in 1876 amounted to 301,328,000 kilogrammes, 
representing a value of 45,199,200 francs ; and the exports 
were 1,862,000 quintals, value 3,000,000 francs, making 
the total commerce in salt, duty paid, amount to nearly 
;^2,ooo,ooo sterling, besides a good deal employed in agri- 



342 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

culture, the fisheries, and chemical industries, on which no 
duty is paid. 

Marseilles is a great entrepot for the trade in marine 
salt in France. In 1877 the deliveries were over 78,000 
tons, of which 17,400 tons were exported, 39,000 tons locally 
consumed in the chemical and soap works, and 12,000 tons 
employed in the fisheries. 

The following is the composition of the crude salt of 



the south and west of France : — 

Salt of the south. Salt of the west. 

Chloride of sodium ... 95"ii ••• 87*97 

magnesia ... o'23 ... 1*58 

Sulphate of magnesia .. 130 0*50 

lime ... ... 0-91 ... 1*65 

Earthy particles ... ... O'lo ... o'8o 

Water ... ... ... 2-35 ... 7-50 

lOO'OO ' lOO'OO 



The annual average production of marine salt in France 
in the ten years ending 1876 was as follows : — 

Tons. 

Salt marshes of the south 230,125 

,, ,, west ... 219,563 
Salines or salt-pits 203,907 

653,595 

The quantity delivered for consumption, duty paid, was 
315,549 tons ; exported abroad, 109,633 tons ; delivered 
free for various manufactures, 183,763 ; total, 608,945 tons. 
The tax on salt in France was raised to 12\ francs the 100 
kilogrammes by the law of the 2nd of June, 1875. 

On some of the coasts of the Channel, marine salt is 
obtained by a process quite different from that adopted in 
the salines. During low tide the sand of the beach is 
collected, washed with sea water, which gives a very con- 
centrated briny liquor, and this is evaporated to dryness 



Marine Salt. 



343 



in small boilers heated by wood. The saline mass thus 
obtained is placed in baskets, which are suspended over 
the boilers during the subsequent concentration. The salt, 
moistened by the aqueous vapour, gives up almost all 
its deliquescent salts. It is then stored, and only sent 
into commerce after some months' keeping. During this 
time it loses a further 28 or 30 per cent, of its weight. 
The salt obtained by this method is very white, and fine 
like snow. It passes under the name of igniferous salt* 

In certain cold countries, especially in Siberia, where 
the rigour of the climate does not allow the practice of 
salt marshes to be carried on, recourse is had to freezing 
for obtaining salt. This process rests on the property 
which water, saturated with salt, possesses of passing into 
the solid state at a much lower degree than pure water. 
If sea water is exposed to an atmosphere some degrees 
below zero, it separates into two parts — one solid, which is 
the water pure or nearly so ; the other liquid, which is the 
water more or less charged. By removing the ice flakes 
and repeating this operation several times, a liquor is 
obtained more or less concentrated, from which it is easy 
to obtain the salt by means of evaporation ; but this salt is 
always very impure. 

The total production of salt in the world it is quite 
impossible to estimate, because it is not solely an industrial 
manufacture ; but in many localities, and especially in hot 
countries, it is found natural and spontaneous. However, 
it is generally believed that in Europe alone the produce is 
about 3,000,000 tons. In France the mean average pro- 
duction is set down at about 650,000 tons, divided as 
follows : — Salines of the south, 300,000 tons ; salines of the 
west, 250,000 tons; salines of the east and the Pyrenees, 

* Maigne's "Arts and Manufactures." Paris. 



344 Co7nme7^cial Prodtids of the Sea. 



100,000 tons. This production might easily be doubled or 
tripled, but it is limited for want of markets. About 
540,000 tons pass into consumption, apportioned as fol- 
lows : — 370,000 tons for food purposes, 50,000 for chemical 
industries, 60,000 for the fisheries, 60,000 tons for export, 
and 7000 for salting fish under the surveillance of the 
Customs. 

Salt is largely produced in California, mostly from sea 
water. 

Marine salt was made in Austria in 1876 to the amount 
of 344,862 metrical quintals. 

In the Portuguese possessions of St. Thomas's and 
Prince's Island, Angola, Mossamedes, and the islands of 
Cape Verd, salt is made. 

Marine salt, obtained on the coasts of the Gulf of 
Pechihle, China, by spontaneous evaporation of the sea 
water in the salt marshes, is, like saltpetre, the property of 
the State, and subject to special laws. 

Salt is made in the Portuguese possession of Goa, in 
India. 

The principal manufactories of salt from sea water in 
the United States are along the shores of Cape Cod and at 
Nantucket. 

In order to obtain salt by evaporation, the sea water is 
pumped by windmills into shallow wooden pans ; or, in 
countries where it can be done, it is allowed to flow over a 
salt marsh, which has been previously prepared by removing 
all vegetation from its surface. The salt water is first 
secured in a large shallow reservoir, where it is allowed to 
become moderately concentrated by the action of the sun's 
heat and the winds. From this it is conducted, by a system 
of sluiceways, into other reservoirs or evaporating basins 
more carefully constructed, and in these it deposits the 



Marine Salt. 



345 



lime salts. Finally, it is led into basins where it begins to 
deposit the salt, the water in these compartments being 
only a few inches in depth. When the land is sufficiently 
below the level of the sea to allow the water to flow from 
one set of basins into the adjoining ones, of course the pro- 
cess is rendered quite easy ; but if it is not low enough, 
the brine is raised at various stages by pumps moved by 
windmills. Salt produced in this way is called bay salt, 
and can only be made in very dry countries, as a few hours' 
rain would spoil the labour of weeks. When wooden tanks 
are used, they are generally protected from the rain by 
coverings. The tanks are made about ten feet square, and 
a foot deep. The roofs are moved off and on by the aid of 
wheels running on rails, or, what is more common, two roofs 
are fastened together by their corners, and so arranged 
that they will turn about on a pivot, covering or uncovering 
two tanks by one movement. 

The average consumption of salt per head in various 
countries has been roughly estimated to be as follows : — 





lbs. 




lbs. 


England 


40 


Austria ... 


16 


Italy 


20 


Prussia ... 


14 


France 


... 18^ 


Spain 


12 


Russia 


18 


Switzerland 


8- 


Belgium 


16^ 







No marine salt is made in the United Kingdom, but 
the manufacture of salt reaches about 1,500,000 tons, nearly 
half of which is exported, chiefly to India and the United 
States. 

Sea salt is made to a small extent in Algoa Bay and 
other parts of the Cape Colony, and in Australia. 

The sea-salt works of Portugal are very extensive, and 
produce annually 250,000 tons of salt, which is in great 
request. The centres of the manufacture are Setubal, 



34^ The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

Lisbon, Aveiro, and Algarve. The arrangement of the 
salines at Setubal is very simple. They form a vast reser- 
voir, divided into squares, separated from each other by 
roads a little more than a yard wide, and all communicating 
with a main reservoir, which stores up the sea water. The 
water is admitted directly into these square tanks, where it 
evaporates and deposits its salt without any previous con- 
centration or purification. In autumn the water is allowed 
to flow in so as to cover the entire salt marsh to the depth 
of 50 or 60 centimetres. In spring this water evaporates, 
and in the month of June the separation roads appear above 
the surface. The tanks are then cleaned out, left to them- 
selves, and recharged from time to time with new supplies 
of water. Under the influence of the north-east winds 
which prevail at this season, the evaporation is very rapid, 
and after about 20 days each tank is covered with a layer 
of salt an inch and a half thick and almost dry. This is 
the first crop. The salt is collected, sea water is intro- 
duced anew into the reservoirs, and 20 days afterwards a 
second crop is gathered. But this is not evaporated to 
dryness, and the salt is covered with an inch or so of 
mother liquor, which is left behind on gathering the salt 
If the season is favourable, a third crop is attempted, and 
in September the marsh is flooded over for the winter. 

In India the salt manufacture is a Government mono- 
poly, and the tax produces about ;^'6,25o,ooo annually. 
The native production would appear to be hardly sufficient, 
since duty amounting to ^2,235,000 was received on foreign 
salt imported in 1876. The duty levied varies from is. to 
6s. 6d. per maund. The annual imports of foreign salt 
range from 600,000 to 900,000 tons. 

The quantity of salt imported and delivered from salt 
works in the Bombay Presidency in the year ending March, 



Marine Salt. 



347 



1867, was 5,403,718 maunds, of which 4,597,312 maunds 
were sea salt There were 3 54 salt works in operation. 

Extensive salt fields exist at Shimpagah, a short dis- 
tance above Mandalay, on the western bank of the Irra- 
waddy river. It is also obtained at other places in Burmah 
on a small scale. Large quantities could be manufactured 
at Shimpagah, but imported salt is fast taking its place in 
the market. 

The manufacture of sea salt is carried on on the coasts 
of Cochin China, and bids fair to become a prosperous 
industry. There are salines worked at Soc-Trang, Baria, 
and Bien-Hoa. 

The following is an estimate of the cost of carrying on 
the manufacture at the salines of Baria. Each hectare 
(about two acres) of saline is subdivided as follows :— 

Ares. 

Tables ... ... ... 40 

Beds ... ... ... 40 

Jas ... ... ... ... 20 

I hectare. 

From which it results that to establish 200 hectares of 
"tables," it requires not less than 250 hectares of land. 
The working of one hectare of tables, or two and a half 
hectares of saline, involves the following expenditure : — ■ 
1500 francs at first, for feeding the workmen during the 
formation of the salines. If the first collection of salt is 
good, the workpeople are paid a second sum of 1500 
francs, and the collection of salt is given over to them for 
their own benefit. The capital thus advanced amounts to 
3000 francs. The second year the proprietors work on 
their own account, and collect probably salt to the value of 
2000 francs. After deducting tax, etc., there remains 
about 1200 francs of net revenue on the capital advanced, 



34^ The Co7nmercial Products of the Sea. 



at different stages, of 3800 francs; that is to say, about 36 
per cent. 

If the result of the manufacture or collection of salt is 
unfavourable, the salt makers improve their work during 
the second year without any further advance than the 
resulting product obtained for their own benefit. 

It results from these figures that to work 100 hectares 
of salt-pits, or 250 hectares of land, requires a capital of 
about 400,000 francs (;^i6,ooo). 

In Western Austraha salt is collected from the Canning 
in its natural state, and it is evaporated from the water on 
the salt lakes on Rottnest Island, from Poolenup Lake, and 
from Lake Muir. The salt from Rottnest, evaporated at 
226° R, contains 95*9 of pure chloride of sodium. 

The salt trade of the Bahamas and Turks Islands has 
been almost paralyzed by the high rate of duty levied in 
the United States. In 1873, salt to the value of ^11,080 
was shipped from the Bahamas ; in 1876 it had fallen to 
^^4,639. In several of the out islands of the group the 
inhabitants formerly relied upon the proceeds of salt-raking, 
and the islands upon which salinas are situated are not, as 
a rule, capable of producing anything else. For the last 
few years the industry has entailed a loss on all those 
engaged in it, and there is no hope of their condition being 
improved until the duty is reduced or entirely abolished. | 



PART III. 
MARINE CONTRIBUTIONS TO ART. 



CHAPTER 1. 



TORTO'ISESHELL AND THE TURTLE FISHERIES. 

Marine tortoiseshell — Commercial classification — Land tortoises — Employment 
of tortoiseshell — ^Mode of working it — Various applications of tortoiseshell 
— Statistics of imports — The green or edible turtle — Food uses of the flesh 
and eggs. 

If the earth is made by man to give up its gems and 
precious stones, for art, and its mineral and vegetable sub- 
stance for the art workman and the art manufacturer, the 
sea is also constrained to yield its pearls, its coral, and 
amber for the jeweller ; its mother-of-pearl and other shells 
for inlaying and carving, and its tortoiseshell for ornamental 
work. It also yields treasures for the painter, the sculptor, 
and the art manufacturer, for designs and studies ; whilst its 
objects of beauty in corallines, shells, and seaweeds adorn 
the cabinets of the naturalist, the collector, and public 
museum. It is to be regretted that even in this scientific 
age much ignorance still prevails as to the nature, sources 
of supply, and mode of treatment of many of these marine 
substances — so worthy of close study and investigation. 

A little scattered information on some of the materials 
mentioned has, from time to time, been published ; but 
they seem to require more systematic description. 

The horn-like epidermoid plates which cover the dorsal 
buckler or carapace of the sea-tortoise, are in some species 



352 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

so fine and of such beautiful colours as to be employed for 
various purposes of art. It is only those, however, of the 
hawksbill and caret species that possess any great trade 
value ; the plates being stronger, thicker, and clearer than 
in other varieties. There are usually 13 plates on the 
carapace, called collectively in trade " the head," — four on 
each side, and five on the back; the last bent in the centre. 
Of the side plates, the two middle are the most valuable, 
being the largest and thickest ; those on the back and 
margin, known as " hoofs " or " claws," are comparatively of 

Fig, 26. 




Hawksbill turtle. 



less value. There are 24 marginal pieces round the edges, 
which are termed the " feet " or noses." The lamellce or 
plates vary in thickness from one-eighth to one-quarter of 
an inch, according to the age and size of the animal, and 
weigh collectively from four to six pounds or upwards. In 
an animal of ordinary size, about three feet long and two 
and a half feet wide, the largest plates weigh about nine 
ounces, and measure about thirteen by eight inches, and 
are a quarter of an inch thick in the middle. 



Tortoiseshell a7td the Turtle Fisheries, 353 

Tortoiseshell is usually detached from the carapace and 
bony framework by placing heat below, or sometimes by 
soaking it in boiling water. In the West Indies the plates 
or blades of tortoiseshell are removed by burying the 
carapace in the ground, or in the sand, for 10 or 12 days. 
When taken up the blades fall off, and the 13 dorsal pieces 
are easily collected, forming the before-mentioned, viz., eight 
" sides," two " hoofs," one " skull," and two " main plates." 
A small hole is bored in each, so as to string them together, 
for no experienced buyer will purchase a case of tortoise- 
shell unless the whole of the shell is thus presented. 

The " feet " or " noses " of the tortoiseshell are chiefly 
in demand in China. The blades of the hawksbill or im- 
bricated turtle are very transparent, and more beautifully 
mottled than those of the caret turtle ; the scales of the 
latter are thinner, and are not used for the same purposes, 
but employed for veneering and inlaying work. The shell 
of the hawksbill has a blackish green colour, with yellowish 
spots ; while the colour of the plates of the caret turtle is 
blackish, with irregular transparent spots of golden yellow, 
and veined with red and white, or of a brownish black, of 
various shades. 

The plates of the green or edible turtle are thin and 
flexible, and of slight manufacturing use. Their general 
colour is dull palish brown, streaked with patches of black, 
but not exhibiting those strong beautiful colours w^iich so 
peculiarly distinguish that of the imbricated tortoise. The 
scales of the carapace of the loggerhead turtle are of a 
dark chestnut brown, very thin, and neither clear nor 
beautifully coloured ; hence they are of little value : but 
latterly some use appears to be made of them, for the 
imports of turtleshell (as it is commercially named, in con- 
tradistinction to tortoiseshell) have averaged in the last 

2 A 



354 ^^^^ Commercial Products of the Sea. 

four or five years in value £6000, worth wholesale about 
^s. or 6s. a pound ; the range has been, however, as low as 
M. to per pound for turtleshell. 

Of the shells of the smaller land-tortoises not much use 
is now commercially made ; and they find no sale in this 
country. They were formerly worked up in the manu- 
facture of ornamental articles, such as tea-caddies, work- 
boxes, card-cases, side-combs, etc. ; but they have fallen 
almost into disuse, being superseded by the marine tortoise- 
shell. In the Cape Colony the dorsal shield or shell of a 
small land-tortoise, about three inches in diameter, which 
is very beautiful, is made into a snuff-box. This kind is 
used, more especially on the continent, in buhl furniture, 
and occasionally in England for inlaying tables, cabinets, 
picture-frames, and other ornamental articles ; a suitable 
foil being placed below it, to give lustre and colour. The 
shells of land-tortoises are used by the Indians of North 
America for pots, scoops, and rattles. 

By holding pieces of shell before a gentle fire, or, what 
is better, by steeping them in boiling water, they can be so 
far softened as to be pressed into moulds. 

The moulds employed for this purpose are double, so 
as to contain the shell between them. Both parts of the 
mould being made warm, the piece of tortoise-shell, which 
is made warm and pliant, is placed on the lower half of the 
mould, and the counter-mould is closed upon the shell. 
The mould is then put into a press, and the upper half is 
gently pressed down upon the shell. The whole is then 
put into boiling water, and as the shell becomes more 
and more softened, the upper half of the mould is, from 
time to time, screwed down upon the shell, until at length 
the shell is completely pressed into the lower mould, and is 
itself closely pressed by the upper mould ; so that any 



Tortoises/tell and the Tttrtle Fisherus. 355 

devices that may have been engraved or embossed upon 
the two halves of the mould leave corresponding impressions 
upon the shell. The mould is then taken out of the hot 
water and steeped in cold water for a quarter of an hour ; 
after which the shell is taken out and is found to retain the 
form imparted to it by the mould. 

When two pieces of tortoiseshell are to be joined 
together, the two edges are bevelled or chamferred off, so 
that one inclined edge may lie upon the other. The edges 
are then scraped perfectly clean, contact with the fingers 
or any greasy substance being carefully guarded against. 
A piece of paper is then bound round the overlapped 
edges and fastened with string. A pair of tongs or pincers, 
something like hair-dressers' tongs, are then heated and 
applied to the shell, one jaw above and another beneath, 
by which the shell is grasped throughout the length of the 
seam or overlap. By holding it some time in this position 
the heat of the iron penetrates through the paper, softens 
the shell, and causes the two pieces to unite firmly. Some- 
times two pieces of shell are united by means of boiling 
water. The two edges are overlapped, two pieces of metal 
are placed along the joining, the shell is placed in a press, 
and the whole is immersed in boiling water. As the shell 
softens, the press is screwed more tightly, by which the two 
pieces of shell become firmly united. In practice, when 
two pieces of tortoiseshell are joined, attention is paid to 
the colour and pattern of the surface, in order that the two 
pieces may agree in those respects. 

Sometimes ornaments are made of what may be termed 
melted tortoiseshell, with very beautiful effect. The clip- 
pings, raspings, turnings, etc., of tortoiseshell are collected 
and put into moulds which are double ; that is, a mould for 
the external surface of a box or piece of ornament, and 



35^ ^>^^ Commercial Products of the Sea. 



another for the internal surface. When a sufficient quantity 
of small particles of shell is put into the lower mould, 
which is to form the external surface, the upper mould is 
placed upon them, and gently pressed down by a screw 
attached to a frame which contains both moulds. The 
frame and moulds are then immersed in boiling water, and 
as the particles of shell become softened, the screw is 
gradually turned, so that the shell becomes pressed into a 
soft continuous film, occupying the whole of the space 
between the two moulds. The moulds are then allowed to 
cool, and the shell is removed from between them, when it 
is found to give accurate representations, in relief, of any 
objects which may be engraved on the moulds. This mode 
of manufacture has been carried to great perfection in 
France, from whence snuff-boxes in great variety are pro- 
cured. The French have also made hollow walking-sticks 
of pure tortoiseshell, by joining strips of shell together, and 
moulding them round a central stick or core, which is 
afterwards removed. 

The scales of the plastron, or under-shield, are of a 
yellow colour, and are used for many of the purposes of 
horn. This shell differs entirely in appearance, for instead 
of the mottled shaded colour with its varying tints and 
markings, it is of a bright yellow, resembling somewhat the 
" hoof," or connecting marginal pieces ; but as these ap- 
proach the upper part of the shell, they partake of its 
mottled colouring. 

The under plates and hoof are used for the manufac- 
ture of the gold or amber-coloured semi-transparent combs 
so much admired abroad. The Spanish ladies will often 
give ^3 or £/\. for a comb of plain yellow tortoiseshell, 
while a similar one of the mottled kind would not fetch 
there, perhaps, more than 2Qs. or 30J. Such is the influence 



Tortoiseshell and the Turtle Fisheries. 357 

of fashion and taste. Works in this material are made 
either by cutting them out of the shell, or by soldering 
when softened by heat. Tortoiseshell is often veneered 
upon a body of wood, scraped to a uniform thickness, and 
attached by fine glue. The colours are rendered darker 
or brighter by various coatings of coloured varnish, or of 
metallic leaf placed under the veneer. 

Tortoiseshell is worked upon like horn, and is usually 
softened or rendered plastic by placing in boiling water, 
containing a handful of salt to the quart, for about an hour 
before working ; but there is no necessity for previous 
soaking in cold water, as with horn. In operating on the 
shell of young tortoises, the water has to be made Salter, 
and the time of boiling should be less. Some articles are 
made by placing in brass moulds the raspings, turnings, 
and shreds of tortoiseshell. The moulds, to the number of 
12 to 20, are then placed parallel in a boiler of hot water, 
and left till the softening and pressure show that the mould 
is filled ; they are then taken out, and the objects polished 
and finished for sale. 

In the process of manufacture, the material, being costly, 
is economised as much as possible. For instance, in 
making the frames for eye-glasses, narrow strips of tortoise- 
shell are used, in which slits are cut with a saw ; the slits 
being subsequently, while the shell is warm, strained or 
pulled open, until they form circular or oval apertures, by 
the insertion of tapering triblets of the required shape- 
The same yielding or flexible property is made use of in 
the manufacture of boxes, a round flat disc of shell being 
gradually forced by means of moulds into the form of a 
circular box with upright sides. The union of two or more 
pieces of shells may be effected by carefully scraping the 
parts that are to overlap, so as to render them perfectly 



35 8 The Commercial Prodttcts of the Sea. 

free from grease (even such as might arise from being 
touched by the fingers), softening them in hot water, press- 
ing them together with hot flat tongs, and then plunging 
the joint into cold water. 

If, however, the heat is too great, the colours are much 
deepened, so as to become almost black, as in the case of 
moulded snuff-boxes ; for tortoiseshell, being less fusible 
than horn, cannot be made soft enough to be moulded 
without some injury to the colour. Accordingly, the 
manufacturers never attempt to produce tortoiseshell combs 
with ornamental open work by means of dies, but in the 
following manner : — A paper being pasted over the tortoise- 
shell, the pattern is drawn on the paper, and is then cut 
out by means of drills and fine saws ; the paper is re- 
moved by steeping in water, and the surface of the pattern 
is finished by the graver. 

In making small side-combs, it is found worth while, in 
order to save a costly material, to employ a machine, con- 
sisting of a cutter working straight up and down, and of a 
bed (on which the shell is laid) to which is given a motion, 
advancing, by alternate inclination, first to one side and 
then to the other. By this means the teeth of two combs 
are cut at the same time ; those of the one occupying the 
intervals of the other. Such combs are called parted, the 
saw not being used upon them. They are often made of 
fine stained horn instead of tortoiseshell, and it is difficult 
for the inexperienced eye to detect the difference. 

The appearance of tortoiseshell may be given to horn 
by brushing it over with a paste made of two parts of lime, 
one part litharge, and a little soda-lye, which is allowed to 
dry. This is the same as the Indian hair-dye, and acts by 
forming sulphuret of lead with the sulphur contained in the 
albumen of the horn, producing dark spots, which contrast 



Tortoiseshell and the Turtle Fishe7nes, 359 

with the brighter colour of the horn: Artificial tortoise- 
shell is made by melting gelatine with various metallic 
salts. 

The greatest comb-manufactory in the world is in 
Aberdeen. There are 36 furnaces on the works for pre- 
paring horns and tortoiseshell for the combs, and no less 
than 120 iron screw-presses worked by steam. 

Forty years ago, ladies' back-combs — which were larger 
than ladies' bonnets are now — were made in England and 
the United States for the Spanish peninsula and South 
American markets. They were often a couple of feet wide, 
encircling two-thirds of the head, and from six inches to a 
foot high on the back, the top being wrought in open work ; 
to these the Spanish ladies attached their veils. As much 
of the work was done by hand and with the saw, and 
the polishing was entirely manual, the prices were high, 
averaging £i to £a,. 

For modern uses thick tortoiseshell is more valuable 
than thin ; but among the Romans, who had a furore for 
articles inlaid with tortoiseshell, veneers were cut off it, and 
very beautiful work can be produced by this process. In 
veneering it is usual to apply fish-glue mixed with lamp- 
black, vermilion, green, chrome, white or other colouring 
matter, at the back of the shell, both to heighten its effect 
and to conceal the glue or cement by which it is secured to 
the wooden foundation. 

The uses of tortoiseshell for ornament are varied, and a 
very great number of articles, as must be generally known, 
are made from this substance. Brown and light-coloured 
tortoiseshell is imported from India and China to France 
for fans, the former costing about 25^". the pound, the latter 
as much as £/\.. Machinery has almost entirely replaced 
hand work in the cutting of the mountings for fans, with 



360 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

the exception of tortoiseshell and ivory. In China and 
Japan very beautiful cups and saucers are made from 
this material, little fancy boxes, cases for holding chop- 
sticks, and such like. The artistic mode of lacquering, 
gilding, and ornamenting the tortoiseshell salvers, cups, 
and boxes, as practised in Japan, has yet to be acquired 
here. 

The Chinese are partial to tortoiseshell, but then they 
have peculiar notions respecting it. Tortoiseshell having 
white and dark spots that touch each other, and is as much 
as possible similar on both sides of the plate, is in their 
eyes much finer, and on this account more eagerly bought 
by them, than shell that wants this peculiarity. On the 
contrary, plates which are reddish rather than black in 
their dark spots, which possess little white, and are more 
damasked than spotted — in a word, in which the colours, 
according to the Chinese taste, are badly distributed — are 
less valued. This caprice of the Chinese makes them 
sometimes value single " heads " at unheard-of prices J 
such, for example, as go under the name of "white 
heads," and for the varieties of which they have peculiar 
names. 

Tortoiseshell was much used to decorate furniture by 
the Romans. According to Pliny, Carvillius Pollio was 
the first to apply tortoiseshell to ornamental purposes. 
The fashion for this style of decoration increased, and in 
the days of Augustus the patricians ornamented their 
doors and the columns of their rooms with this substance. 
Julius Caesar found in Alexandria such a collection of the 
carapaces of the tortoise that he had them carried in his 
triumphal entry. 

Strabo, Diodorus, and Pliny, all speak of boats made 
from the shells of tortoises. They are authors of un- 



ToiHoiseshell and the Turtle Fisheries. 361 

doubted veracity, and we must credit the fact, although we 
are not furnished with any very definite idea of the manner 
in which they were built. The sea-turtle is sometimes 
found of sufficient size to make a small boat from the back 
shell, and of the gigantic luth {^Sparges \_DeriJtatockclys] 
coriacea) there is a carapace fully nine feet in length, pre- 
served in the Sydney Museum, New South Wales. But 
the Egyptians could have known nothing of such monsters. 
They must have used the land-tortoise, and most probably 
had the art of welding together pieces of shell by means of 
heat. 

Diodorus tells us that, besides furnishing food for the 
people bordering the Red Sea, they made of the 
carapace small boats to cross the Red Sea, utensils for 
holding various substances, and tiles for covering their 
dwellings. 

" I have been told," says Dampier, " of a monstrous 
tortoise taken in the Bay of Campeachy, which measured 
four feet from the back to the belly, and six feet in width. 
The son of Captain Rock, 9 or 10 years old, used this as a 
boat to go from the shore to his father's vessel, about a 
quarter of a league." Another voyager, Lemaire, states 
that, at Cape Blanc, the turtles are of such a size that some 
with the bones removed yielded a barrel of flesh, without 
the head, throat, tail, fins, tripe, and eggs, and would 
furnish a good meal to 30 men. — Firmin, "Voyage in 
Equinoxial Holland," page 80. 

The specimens to be seen in the Natural v History 
Museums of Paris and London, give an idea of the mon- 
strous size of some of these sea-turtles, so that - there is 
nothing exaggerated in the accounts of travellers. But it is 
not these large turtles that are most esteemed for food ; 
those of 10 or 25 lbs. weight are the best flavoured. 



362 The Co7nmercial Products of the Sea. 

At the first London International Exhibition, in 185 1, 
tortoiseshell bracelets, brooches, ornaments, circlets, and 
rings were shown by M. Philip, a Parisian manufacturer, 
who received a medal for them ; but it is only lately that 
this species of ornament has come much into vogue here. 
This tortoiseshell jewellery, however, is neat, tasteful, and 
moderate priced, and is taking the place of the vulcanite 
and jet ornaments which have been so much worn. The 
tortoiseshell is moulded for these into earrings, brooches, 
bracelets, crosses, and other pendants, in which pique gold 
ornaments and fancy devices are worked. 

England imports annually large quantities of tortoise- 
shell, and maintains the monopoly of this artistic material. 
It would scarcely be believed that in some years upwards 
of 30 tons of this ornamental substance, valued at more 
than ;^74,ooo, are imported here, and on the average of 
years about 25 tons are received. 

At the Paris International Exhibition of 1867, among 
the countries which exhibited tortoiseshell were Holland, 
Dutch India, the Bahamas, and Tahiti. A French ex- 
hibitor at Nossi-be, who exports 6000 to 7000 lbs. annually, 
showed some fine plates of shell. 

To show how widespread is the range of the marine 
tortoise, it may be mentioned that tortoiseshell comes to 
us from more countries than any similar raw ornamental 
substance. We receive it from India and China, the 
Eastern Archipelago and Pacific Islands, Australia, the 
West Indies, South America, and Africa. The Indian 
islands furnish the largest supply of tortoiseshell for the 
European and Chinese markets, the chief emporia being 
Singapore, Manila, and Batavia, from which 26,000 to 
30,000 lbs. are annually exported. 



Tortoiseshell and the Turtle Fisheries. 363 

The imports into the United Kingdom and values in 
1870 were from — 





lbs. 


Value. 


Holland 


6,900 


... /4, ^"^O 


Philippine Islands . 


. 2,536 ... 


... 1,836 


British India 


. 2,528 ... 


984 


Straits Settlements. 


1,982 


... 1,414 


Australia 


.. 9,144 ... 


6,220 


New Granada 


. 6,228 ... 


... 4,518 


West India Islands 


and 




Honduras 


9,576 ... 


••• 6,553 


Other parts ... 


.. 10,438 ... 


... 6,628 




49,332 


^32,503 



The average prices in 1870 were from i^s. to 14^". 6d. 
per pound, except Indian tortoiseshell, which was only 
worth Js. ()d. per pound, 

Tortoiseshell remained low in price for some years, as 
it is greatly dependent for its chief use, that of ladies' 
combs, on the fashion of the day in wearing the hair. A 
quarter of a century ago it often fetched ^3 ^s. the pound ; 
in recent years the average wholesale price has not been 
more than from 12s. to 15.5-., but of late there has been an 
increased demand, and a gradual upward tendency in 
prices is manifested. At one of the London monthly 
pubHc sales, good dark-mottled shell on a light ground, 
free from scab, and thin red shell or dull colours, from 
Zanzibar, Bombay, and Singapore, fetched wholesale 28^-. 
to 2gs. 6d. per pound. Of West Indian tortoiseshell, 
4000 to 5000 lbs. were readily sold at from 31J. to 4IJ. per 
pound for fair to good quality " hoof ; " ordinary and 
medium, from 2^s. 6d, to 32^-.; and even inferior as high 
as I \s. to 22s. per pound. 

As much as 5000 and 6000 lbs. of tortoiseshell were 
exported from Mauritius 10 years ago, but lately the 
shipments have dropped down to about 1000 lbs. 



364 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

The average annual imports of tortoise-shell into France 
have been as follows : — 

Kilogrammes. Value in francs. 
In the ten years ending 1856 ... 13,389 ... 730,096 
1866 ... 31.629 ... 1,251,922 
1876 ... 42,306 ... 2,078,910 

Passing now to the food uses of the turtle — M. Lacepede 
well remarks that one of the best presents which nature 
has given to the inhabitants of equatorial countries, one of 
the most useful products w^iich it has deposited on the con- 
fines of land and water, is the turtle. 

The flesh of some species of marine tortoises, but 
particularly of the green turtle {Chelonia midas), is in the 



Fig. 27. 




Green or Edible turtle. 



greatest request as a luxury for the table, at least in 
England, and the animal itself is an object of commerce. 
The arrival of a cargo of "lively turtles" is by no means 
a thing of trifling importance. Of late years, the flesh is 
imported dried, which has placed it within the reach of 
general consumers. It is also salted in some quarters. All 
the turtles afford a considerable quantity of oil, which is 
employed for various purposes. In some of the West 
Indian islands it supplies, when fresh, the place of butter 
or salad oil for culinary purposes, and it is also used for 
burning in lamps. 

Turtle would seem to have been first introduced in 



Tortoiseshell and the Turtle Fisheries. 365 

England as an article of food about the eighteenth century^ 
for a record in the Gentleman s Magazine, under date 
August 31, 1753, shows that it was then a rarity ; but they 
did not understand how to dress it. It states : " A turtle, 
weighing 350 lbs., was ate at the King's Arms, Pall Mall ; 
the mouth of an oven was taken down to admit the part to 
be baked." 

The locality for feasting upon the turtle now has been 
transferred chiefly to the precincts of the City ; and the 
Ship and Turtle, Birch's in Cornhill, the Guildhall, and 
Mansion House, are the chief depots of consumption. Steam 
communication too has greatly increased the imports of 
this reptile. About 15,000 are now introduced into our 
ports, and from thence to our kitchens, every year. They 
weigh from a quarter to three cwt., and may be valued in 
the aggregate at about £^000, or more. Not that all these 
shielded animals so arriving can be called " lively turtle," 
for the voyage has very often a damaging effect upon 
them, and they have to be brought into flesh before they 
can be dished up for an alderman's or nobleman's table. 

Dr. Browne, in his " History of Jamaica," speaking of 
the turtle, says 'Mt is dehcate, tender food while young, 
but as it grows old it becomes more tough and gristly, 
and is not so agreeable to the stomach in those warm 
countries ; the juices, however, are generally reckoned 
great restoratives, and often observed to heal and smooth 
the skin in scorbutic and leprous habits." 

The flesh of the green turtle is employed in the West 
India islands generally, in all the maritime cities of the 
United States, Brazil, and Peru, in England, in Africa, the 
Cape Verd islands, and among the natives who inhabit 
the western coasts of Africa, Guinea, and Congo, the 
islands of Mauritius and Reunion in the Indian Ocean, 



366 The Coinmercial Products of the Sea. 

at the English Presidencies of India, and in Australia. 
There is not a four-footed animal, a voyager tells us, the 
flesh of which the Japanese esteem like that of the kecame^ 
or turtle. 

The flesh of the turtle is thus, we find, a universal food, 
if we except some of the States of Europe, which do 
not seem to appreciate it as a delicacy. I may add that 
this has been so in all ages. Diodorus of Sicily, Pliny, 
and Strabo speak of it. The former named " Cheloni- 
phages," certain people inhabiting islands at the entry of 
the Red Sea, whose principal occupation was catching 
turtle. 

The flesh is cooked in all ways. It is made into soup ; 
it is roasted ; it is made into fricassees, stews, and pies. 
The eggs, intestines, bones, all are employed, and esteemed 
excellent. 

There are in the turtle two pieces of flesh very white, 
compared to knuckles of veal. It may be larded and 
made into fricandeaux and pates, equal to those of Rouen 
or Pontoise. The turtle is, as it were, the fry. of the sea, 
for every part of the flesh is edible. The bones, being 
easily saturated with the gravy, are left in the ragouts 
which are made, and the fat, which is very fluid, serves 
instead of butter or lard. The two most choice food 
preparations of the turtle in the West Indies are the 
soup and the boucan or plastron. The soup made there 
is flavoured with sherry, and seasoned with strong spices, 
capsicums, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. It is considered to 
be excellent when, after having eaten, one is obliged to 
rest with the mouth wide open, and cool the fevered palate 
with madeira or port. So that to appreciate this fiery soup, 
the taste has to be acquired. 

The plastron, or boucaneered turtle, is made by 



Tortoiseshell and the Tti7^tle Fis/m^ies. 367 

mincing the flesh fine and c6oking it in its own shell. 
Here is the recipe given for preparing and cooking it : 
" The plastron or buckler is the shell of the belly, on 
which is left three or four inches of flesh, with all the fat, 
this being green, and of a very delicate flavour. The 
plastron is placed in the oven. It is seasoned with lemon 
juice, capsicum or cayenne, salt, pepper, cloves, and eggs 
beaten up. The oven ought not to be too hot, as the flesh 
of the turtle being tender it should be cooked slowly. 
While it is baking the flesh must be pierced from time 
to time with a wooden skewer, so that the gravy may 
penetrate all parts. The shell is sent up to table, and the 
meat carved out from it. I have never eaten anything 
more appetizing or better flavoured." This is not the 
recipe of a royal chef de misine, or of an 'ordinary 
cook, but of Father Labat, a Dominican monk, and we 
know that in all that relates to the table, and especially the 
food of fast-days, monks are the authorities. The old 
buccaneers — from whom this dish was named — having no 
ovens, cooked their turtle in a trench covered with lighted 
charcoal, and this mode of cooking was said to be pre- 
ferable. But in whatever manner dressed, all agree that 
the flesh of the turtle is an excellent and palatable food. 

Green turtle soup is now manufactured in America 
and the West Indies. A manufactory at Key West, 
Florida, puts up in air-tight cans for exportation 200,000 
lbs. yearly, and employs 10 vessels and 60 men in 
collecting the turtle. It is sent to England and Cuba 
chiefly. At Jamaica some factories are also doing a good 
business in a preparation worthy of the gastronomic 
patronage of an aldermanic banquet, so rich is it in green 
fat and calipee, calipash, and those delicate gelatinous 
morsels appertaining to the fins. A steady supply of 



368 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

turtle is obtained monthly through the West India and 
Pacific steamers from Colon, besides those brought from 
the Caymanas. 5484 lbs. of prepared turtle, valued at 
;^356, were shipped from Jamaica in 1874, 

Jamaica is the principal mart in the West Indies to 
which the turtle are brought from the coasts of the Gulf of 
Mexico, from Trinidad to Vera Cruz, principally from 
Honduras and the Tortugas. From Jamaica they are sent 
to England and the United States. 

Although all the varieties of the edible turtle are pala- 
table, yet they are distinguished by the localities from 
whence they are obtained, and some are preferred to 
others. Those of the Bay of Honduras are most esteemed 
in England. Of the Cape Verd Islands, those of St. Vin- 
cent are considered the best. Dampier tells us that they 
are not so large as those of the American islands. The 
flesh is white and intermixed with the green fat, which is 
firm and of good flavour. 

But it is not only the flesh that is useful ; the fat, 
exposed to the sun, is converted into oil. When fresh, it is 
good for frying and for other culinary uses, and when it 
becomes rancid, as it is very fluid and penetrating, it 
serves to oil leather, to burn, and to lubricate machinery. 
It is not rare to obtain 100 lbs. of oil from a single turtle. 
Oil is obtained from two species of turtle very abundant in 
the river Orinoco — Peltocephahts Tracaya, and another. 
The gigantic luth is famous on account of its valuable oil. 

The eggs of most of the species of sea-tortoises or turtle 
are excellent, being both nutritious and agreeable to the 
taste. They have no firm shell, and the white or albu- 
minous portion does not harden on cooking. A native of 
Brazil will consume as many as 20 or 30 at a meal, and 
a European will eat a dozen for breakfast. They make an 



Tortoiseshell and the Turtle Fisheries. 369 

excellent omelet. The Indians frequently eat them raw, 
mixed with their cassava flour. A large quantity of rich 
oil is made from the immense deposits of turtle eggs on the 
banks of the Orinoco and Amazon ; each turtle lays from 
100 to 200 eggs. Several thousand persons are occupied on 
the banks of these rivers preparing this mantega or turtle 
oil as a local article of commerce. 



2 p. 



370 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER 11. 

MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND ITS USES. 

Composition of nacreous shells — Their extensive employment in art and 
manufacture — Explanation of prismatic colours — Varieties of mother-of- 
pearl shells entering into commerce — Purposes to which they are applied 
— Statistics of imports — Diving for the shells in the Pacific — Pearl fishery 
of Western Australia — Papier-mache work — Other nacreous and iridescent 
shells used — The ear-shells or Haliotids. 

Among the products obtained from the sea which are used 
by the artist and art-manufacturer, mother-of-pearl and 
other nacreous and iridescent shells form important articles 
of commerce, to which we will now direct attention. 

The mother-of-pearl shells which our manufacturers 
transform into so many articles of ornament and utility, 
are those of the large oysters, obtained in many different 
parts of the world, chiefly the shells of Meleagrina margari- 
tifera. 

Shells are composed of carbonate of lime, with a small 
proportion of animal matter. The source of this lime is to 
be looked for in their food. The texture of shells is various 
and characteristic. Some when broken present a dull 
lustre like marble or china, and are termed porcelaneous ; 
others are pearly or nacreous; some have a fibrous structure; 
some are horny, and others are glassy and transparent. 



Mother -of- Pearl and its Uses. 371 



The nacreous shells are formed by alternate layers of 
very thin membrane and carbonate of lime ; but this alone 
does not give the pearly lustre, which appears to depend 
on minute undulations in the layers. The fibrous shells 
consist of successive layers of prismatic cells containing 
translucent carbonate of lime. The exquisitely fine series 
of furrows upon the surface sheds a brilliant reflection of 
colours according to the angle at which the light falls upon 
them. 

The concrete composition of mother-of-pearl, being 
deposited in annual layers, is excessively hard, and requires 
good tools to work it ; sulphuric and other powerful acids 
are brought to the aid of the circular saw, the drill, and 
the file, and calcined sulphate of iron is used to give a 
polish to the objects. The Japanese and Chinese have 
evidently means and processes for working this material 
which are unknown to us, for they give a finish and a 
polish to their pearlwork carvings and inlayings, which the 
skilful artists of the western world admire and envy. 

Besides its use for buttons, studs, the handles of knives, 
fans, book-covers, card-cases, and other fancy articles, 
mother-of-pearl is also employed by cabinet-makers, piano- 
forte manufacturers, papier-mache workers, and others, for 
inlaying. The range of articles made of this substance is 
very extensive ; pen-holders, carved brooches, earrings, 
buckles, sleeve-links, little boxes, and hundreds of others, 
might be enumerated. 

The greatly increased use of this material in various 
branches of manufacture, particularly those of an orna- 
mental character, has more than doubled the price of the 
shells. From 4000 to 5000 persons used to be engaged in 
the manufacture at Birmingham, but the number has been 
greatly reduced in consequence of other countries com- 



372 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

peting with us in the manufacture. France now works up 
about 1500 tons of mother-of-pearl annually, while North 
America and Austria also compete with us. We import 
from 1 500 to 2000 tons of mother-of-pearl annually, worth 
about 1 00,000. 

The quantity of mother-of-pearl and other nacreous 
shells imported into France is thus given in the French 
official returns : — 

Average Annual Imports. 

Kilogrammes. Value in francs. 
In the ten years ending respectively 1856 ... 788,994 ... 730,308 

1866 ... 1,197,898 ... 1,331,884 

1876 ... 1,376,132 ••• 3,159,943 

Sea-ear shells {Haliotis) are also now imported into 
France to the extent of 134,550 kilogrammes a year. 

Button-making is one of the largest uses to which 
mother-of-pearl is turned. The blanks are cut out of the 
shell with the annular or crown-saw fixed upon a lathe 
mandril. They are split into two or more sections, accord- 
ing to the thickness of the button required. They are then 
ground down and cleaned, turned into a pattern, and after- 
wards "fancied," or an ornament is worked on the face. 
Next, the holes are drilled by which the button has to be 
attached with thread to the garment, and lastly they are 
polished. They are finally sorted and mounted on cards 
of a gross each, which sell at from i^. 6d. to Zs. There are 
some firms in Birmingham which turn out 500,000 gross 
annually. Pearl buttons are made of all sizes, from the 
Brobdignag ones as big as half a crown, for coats, costing 
2s. or 3^". each, to the very tiny ones used for mere orna- 
ment. 

This beautiful material has been as valuable to science, 
by supplying confirmatory evidence of the truth of New- 
ton's views respecting the origin of colour, as it has been 



Mother-of- Pearl and its Uses. 



373 



to the manufacturer, in furnishing him with an elegant 
material for the formation of ornamental articles of various 
kinds. 

Mother-of-pearl is the interior laminae or scales of the 
shell of various mollusca living in the Indian seas. The true 
pearl oysters, as they are called, exhibit the beautifully 
variegated colours of mother-of-pearl ; but it is a much 
larger species called the Meleagrina margaritifera, which 
affords the most exquisite specimens. That many shells 
have a certain degree of resemblance on their inner sur- 
faces to this substance we have every-day proof ; for, if we 
inspect the interior of a common oyster shell, we shall 
frequently find that it exhibits that rich play of tints which 
constitutes the beauty of mother-of-pearl ; and, with respect 
to mussels, Reaumur remarked, in the early part of the last 
century, that those caught off the coast of Provence had the 
interior of their shells variously tinted, one portion of each 
shell being pearl-like in its appearance. 

No one can avoid being struck with the diversity 
and delicacy of the ever-varying tints of colour of this 
beautiful substance ; but there appears to have been no 
attempt made to discover the cause of the production 
until Sir David Brewster took up the subject, which he did 
with great success, and added another to the long list of 
services which he has rendered to optical science. 

Sir D. Brewster says : " If we take a plate of regularly 
formed mother-of-pearl, having its two opposite surfaces 
ground flat (but not polished), and if, with the eye placed 
close to the plate, we view in it by reflection a candle 
standing at the distance of a few feet, we shall observe a 
dull and imperfect image free from colour. This image is 
formed on the ordinary principles of reflection, and is faint 
and undefined, owing to the imperfect reflecting power of 



374 1^^^ Commercial Products of the Sea, 

the ground surface. On one side of this imperfect image 
will be seen a brighter image, glowing with the prismatic 
colours. On the outside of the prismatic image will be 
observed a mass of coloured light, nearly at the same 
distance beyond the prismatic image that the latter is from 
the common image. These three images are always in the 
same right line, but their distances from one another vary 
according to the direction in which they are viewed." 

Now, it was in making certain observations on the 
distances of these images from one another that Sir David 
Brewster lighted upon the cause of them. He had occasion 
to fix a piece of mother-of-pearl to a goniometer (an 
instrument for measuring angles), by a cement of rosin and 
beeswax. Upon removing it from the cement when in a 
hard state, by insinuating the edge of a knife and making 
it spring off, the plate of mother-of-pearl left a clean im- 
pression of its own surface ; and he was surprised to 
observe that the cement had actually received the property 
of producing the colours which were exhibited by the 
mother-of-pearl. This unexpected phenomenon was at 
first attributed by him, and by several gentlemen who saw 
the experiment, to a very thin film of mother-of-pearl 
detached from the plate and left upon the cement ; but 
subsequent experiments convinced him that this was a 
mistaken opinion, and that the mother-of-pearl really 
communicated to the cement the properties which it pos- 
sessed. 

This circumstance sufificiently proved to Sir D. Brewster 
that the cause, whatever it might be, of the colours of 
mother-of-pearl resided on the surface, and did not depend 
upon the chemical nature of the substance. In order, 
therefore, to discover what was the configuration of the 
surface, he applied a microscope with high magnifying 



Mot ker-of- Pearl and its Uses. 375 



powers to the surface, when he perceived a grooved struc- 
ture, closely resembling, as he says, " the delicate texture of 
the skin at the top of an infant's finger, or the minute 
corrugations which are often seen on surfaces covered with 
varnish or oil paint" When the mother-of-pearl was 
regular in its structure the grooves were all parallel, and 
the reflected images of a candle appeared all in one straight 
line ; but when they were tortuous or curved, the images of 
a candle were not in a straight line. 

Here, then, was proof that the colours were produced by 
the effect of the grooves on the light reflected from the 
surface ; for on applying the microscope to the wax, which 
exhibited the same colours, a similar assemblage of grooves 
was observed. A consideration of Sir Isaac Newton's 
theory of the causes of the colours of thin bodies (which is 
not of a nature to be introduced here) has made it demon- 
strable that the series of grooves breaks up a beam of 
light which falls upon them, into a number of separate 
parts, each of which is reflected on the eye from the 
bottom and side of the little grooves, and assumes a par- 
ticular colour according to the angle at which it is reflected. 

This singularly beautiful appearance can be transferred 
to balsam of Tolu, or to gum-arabic, by allowing the thin 
film to be pressed and to solidify between two pieces of 
mother-of-pearl ; or it may be communicated to a clean 
surface of lead, or to the fusible metal resulting from the 
compound of mercury and bismuth by hammering. 

With respect to the fineness and number of these 
grooves, different specimens of shell give very diff"erent 
results. Sometimes a magnifying power of six or eight 
times will render them imperceptible, while in other in- 
stances 2000 grooves have been counted in the space of an 
inch, and in others, again, the number was wholly incal- 



37^ The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

culable. What is very remarkable is that grinding will not 
obliterate these grooves. It might be supposed that as the 
grooves must be separated from one another by slight 
ridges, these ridges might be worn away in the process of 
grinding. But as the ridges wear down, so do the grooves 
also ; so that, however thin the film may be rendered by 
grinding, the grooves and the colours resulting from them 
are still developed. If the surface has any scratches or 
dents, the bottoms and sides of the scratches are grooved, 
just as if the surface had been level. 

If we view a candle through a thin film of mother-of- 
pearl, or of gum or balsam which has received the grooved 
impression, coloured images of the candle will be seen 
nearly as distinctly as when the light is reflected from its 
surface. 

If a scientific statement be true, there are generally 
means for proving its applicability in more circumstances 
than one. Consequently, if the colours of mother-of-pearl 
are produced by grooves on its surface, any mechanical 
contrivance by which similar grooves may be produced on 
any substance ought to give similar results. This has been 
strikingly confirmed by Mr.- Barton, of the Royal Mint. 
This gentleman has constructed an engine by which he can 
engrave on the surface of steel and other metals lines so 
exquisitely minute that from 2000 to 10,000 are included 
in a single inch. These surfaces, when viewed by daylight, 
present but few appearances of colour ; but when the light 
of the sun or of gas flames falls upon them, an extremely 
brilliant display of colours is the result ; every gradation 
of tint is exhibited, and a change is produced by every 
motion of the object or of the source of illumination. 

There are six or eight leading varieties of mother-of- 
pearl shells entering into commerce. 



Mother-of-Pemd and its Uses. 377 



1. Those from the Arm Islands, which are the most 
valuable. This group, situate at the south-west of New 
Guinea, extends about 100 miles from north to south. 
From 130 to 150 tons are obtained from this locality 
annually. Pearl oysters are abundant on parts of the 
coasts of New Caledonia, but generally at too great depths 
to be obtainable. There are three sorts, which are classi- 
fied in commerce as bastard, black-bordered, and silvery 
white, the last being the most esteemed. 

2. The fishery next in importance is that from Sulu to 
New Guinea, etc. All the extensive range from Cape 
Unsing, passing by the Tawi-Tawi Islands and Sulu as far 
as Baselan, is one vast continuous bed of pearl oysters. The 
fishing is partly carried on by the Malays and partly by 
the Chinese, and from 2500 to 3000 cwts. are sold there 
annually. The Sulu pearls have from time immemorial 
been celebrated and praised as the most valuable of any in 
the world. The shells are distinguished b}/ the yellow 
colour of the border and back, which renders them unfit for 
ornamental purposes, but they are largely used by the 
Sheffield cutlers. Of the Sulu Archipelago we know com- 
paratively -little. The people of Sulu and the Lanuns of 
Mindanao are the most daring habitual pirates of the 
Malayan seas. The principal articles of commerce of the 
Sulu and neighbouring islands are the produce of the 
fisheries, namely, pearls, mother-of-pearl shells, tortoise- 
shell, etc. 

3. The so-called Bombay shells of commerce come in 
reality from the Persian Gulf fishery, where the search for 
pearls is vigorously and successfully prosecuted. Most 
of the shells from this quarter are small, and generally 
dark about the edges. They, however, realize more than 
the Panama and Tahiti shells. The imports range from 



37^ The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

about 3000 to 5000 cwts. per annum. They are chiefly 
used in Birmingham for buttons, counters, and inlaying 
purposes. 

4. The shells from the Red Sea fishery bear the name 
of " Egyptian," as they are sent to Alexandria. For a long 
time the bulk of these shells were forwarded via Trieste to 
Vienna, affording employment to a large number of arti- 
sans, who worked for the American market, and thus dis- 
placed about 50 per cent, of the British-made goods. But 
after the great rise in the price of mother-of-pearl shells, 
the larger proportion of the Red Sea shells was again 
sent for some years to London and Liverpool. About 
12,000 cwts. are shipped annually from Alexandria ; but 
we only get at present about half this quantity. 

5. Panama shells from the Gulf of Panama, about the 
Pearl Islands, are now obtained in large quantities. The 
shells from the island of St. Joseph (one of this group) are 
said to be the largest, purest, and finest in the bay. After 
1855 the trade began to be conducted on an important 
scale, five or six vessels taking cargoes of 100 to 250 tons 
each for Great Britain ; 800 to 1000 tons is about the 
average annual shipment from this quarter. 

According to their growth, the mother-of-pearl shells 
imported vary in size from about the palm of the hand to 
that of the crown of a hat. The smallest are the South 
American, weighing nearly half a pound the shell (the single 
valve) ; the Bombay and Egyptian weigh about three- 
quarters of a pound; the South Sea black, one pound; and 
the Singapore and Manila as much as one and a quarter 
pound each. Their value greatly depends upon quality, 
for they arrive in bulk without any attention being paid 
to sorting, and keeping separate, the dead and grubby 
or worm-eaten shells, of which there is always a great 



Mother-of- Pearl and its Uses. 379 

proportion among the larger shells. The medium and 
small sorts, being the cleanest, bring higher rates in com- 
parison with the larger kinds. They should always be of a 
bold, fine, good, clear white colour and substance, and not 
broken. 

Fashion, in this as in other manufactures, has much to 
do with the price and supply of the raw material. About 
15 years ago the black-edged shell, often termed "smoked 
pearl," was in much demand for the large dark buttons 
worn on ladies' paletots, gentlemen's waistcoats, shooting 
coats, etc., but these have gone somewhat out of fashion. 
Other shells of a deep, dark, iridescent hue were imported 
largely some 30 or 40 years ago, and, having only a 
nominal value, were buried in piles in the earth at Bir- 
mingham ; a demand having again sprung up for them, 
many instances have occurred in which they have been 
dug up and used. An anecdote was recently told me by a 
large wholesale shell-merchant in London, of a workman 
in Birmingham having volunteered to dig up his neigh- 
bour's yard or garden free. The offer being declined, the 
man persisted, agreeing to give £^ if he might be allowed 
to do it, and cart away the rubbish. Consent was at last 
obtained, and the digger cleared £20 by the pearl shells he 
thus obtained and sold. My informant also told me that 
the Town Hall of Birmingham is built on such mounds of 
these shells that it would almost pay, at present prices, to 
pull it down and rebuild it for the sake of the shells that 
could be thus obtained. 

The use of pearl for hafting cutlery, the handles of 
dessert knives and forks, fruit-knives, etc., is not so general 
as it used to be ; not many years ago 100 tons were em° 
ployed annually in Sheffield for this purpose. The only 
nacreous shells possessing sufficient thickness for Sheffield 



380 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

purposes are received from Manila and Singapore, and of 
late years from Western Australia. So variable is the 
supply and demand, that this description of pearl shell has 
been sold within the last 50 years at almost all rates, 
between £60 and £600 per ton. The " scales " (as the two 
flat pieces are termed which are riveted to the central plate 
of the haft of the knife) have to be ground down on stones, 
singly and by hand, to a level surface and the required 
thickness. This tedious process aids in making shell a 
costly covering for cutlery, and as the substance is both 
hard and brittle, when the handles are fluted or carved, the 
price is of course still further enhanced. 

The numerous visitors to the Paris International Exhi- 
bition of 1867 could not fail to be struck with the mosaic 
pictures in mother-of-pearl, shown in the Siamese Court, 
representing the idol Buddha, the perfection and origin- 
ality of which excited the envy of amateurs. The King 
of Siam, Avhen informed of this fact, commanded the 
artists of his palace to execute two other mosaics ; and in 
order to render them more agreeable to European taste, 
they were made to represent the Saviour, and were pre- 
sented at the close of the Exhibition to the Empress 
Eugenie, in order that they might adorn some Catholic 
chapel. 

The commerce in mother-of-pearl is extensive in 
Cochin China, where this substance is much employed 
for inlaying choice articles of furniture. It is obtained 
mostly in the Bay of Tirwar. Some of the other French 
colonies in India supply small quantities of mother-of- 
pearl. The shells of the true pearl oysters of Ceylon 
(Avicula margaritifera) are too thin to be of use in 
manufactures for their nacre, although importations have 
from time to time been made here, in the hope of utilizing 



Mother-of- Pearl and its Uses. 381 

some of the mounds of shells which have accumulated 
on the shores of the island from time to time after the 
periodical fisheries for pearls. 

In inlaying with pearl shell the artist traces the stems 
and leaves of the flowers with a camel's-hair pencil, dipped 
in a size made of varnish and turpentine ; upon this he 
lays gold-leaf, which adheres where there is size, and the 
superfluous gold is carefully brushed off" with a piece of 
silk. The flowers and leaves are then painted in colours, 
and, when dry, the picture and surface of the article is 
covered with a coat of refined white varnish. 

The second method of inlaying consists in sketching 
the ornament or design with some kind of varnish not 
acted upon by acid, upon the piece of the shell ground and 
polished upon revolving wheels, as in the other case, and 
then etching away the surrounding unpolished portions by 
means of an acid. This process possesses several advan- 
tages, one of which is that it is much cheaper than where 
the design is cut out by hand. 

But little taste has been exhibited in the decoration of 
English papier-mache goods, and they have been for the 
most part vulgar and tawdry in design and execution. 
Even the Japanese, with all their good taste and artistic 
skill, have lately imitated closely our style of papier-mache 
work, without any of that refinement and originality of 
design of which they are so capable. 

The survey thus taken of the various uses of pearl 
shells will serve to show how extensive is the range of 
applications to which they are put, and how important and 
valuable the commerce in an article of this kind may 
become. Every day develops some new use for mother-of- 
pearl, and although the material is not one on which any 
great artistic skill can be displayed, still trade ingenuity 



382 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

and inventive genius are being constantly devoted to its 
utilization. 

We may now turn to a few details of the commerce in 
pearl shells. It was only in 1853 that mother-of-pearl 
shells were deemed of sufficient importance to appear in 
the Board of Trade returns. The imports from that period 
to 1870 were as follows. No official returns have, however, 
been published since : — 





Cwts. 


Value. 


1853 ... 


... 15,480 




1854 ... 


... 36,644 


... ;^88,305 


1855 ... 


20,120 


••• 34,634 


1856 ... 


... 42,032 


... 76,544 


1857 ... 


... 34,324 


... 57,819 


1858 ... 


25,108 


60,448 


1859 ... 


... 40.003 


... 67,859 


i860 ... 


... 30,054 


... 59,707 


1862 ... 


... 25,442 


... 38,677 


1863 ... 


... 20,322 


... 35,316 


1864 ... 


... 19,415 


30,416 


1865 ... 


27,262 


... 42,663 


1866 ... 


24,022 


... 41,746 


1867 ... 


... 36,175 


... 70,426 


1868 ... 


32,002 


... 64,869 


1869 ... 


... 37,662 


... 94,015 


1870 ... 


26,197 


... 76,489 



In the time of the Jesuit missionaries the pearl fishery 
was actively carried on, and produced great wealth to the 
people of Lower CaHfornia. The value of the shells is 
sufficient to pay the expense of the fishing, leaving the 
pearls which may be obtained as clear gain. The best 
pearl-bearing shells are found at between 14 and 18 
fathoms, but locality has, apparently, much influence both 
on the shell and the pearl, not only in quantity but also 
in quality. At some of the islands, the banks, even in 
shallow water, are quite choice in their yield, while at 
others, as in the Isle de Puercos, the shells are tortuous 



Mother-of- Pearl and its Uses. 383 

and blistered, with dark spots, and but lightly esteemed in 
the markets of Europe. 

Not only are they found at the islands, but all along 
the shores of the mainland, and it is generally believed that 
a series of deposits exists from the Gulf of Darien to that 
of CaHfornia. In the waters of the latter place, and along 
the shores of Central Mexico and Costa Rica, fishers of 
shell have for a long time enjoyed a profitable employment. 
Thirteen or fourteen tons of pearl shell were shipped from 
Guayaquil in 1871. 

The upper portions of the cathedral and some of the 
churches of Panama are studded with mother-of-pearl 
shells, which give them a quaint and striking aspect under 
the reflection of the sun's rays. In many of the houses at 
Manila, also, the outer side of the verandah is composed of 
coarse and dark-coloured mother-of-pearl shells and paper 
oyster shells set in a wooden framework of small squares, 
forming windows which move on slides. Although the 
light admitted through this sort of window is much inferior 
to what glass would give, the material has the advantage of 
being strong, and is not very liable to be damaged by the 
severe weather to which it is occasionally exposed during 
some months of the year. 

From the province of Chiriqui several shipments have 
at sundry times been made by merchants of Panama, of 
shells obtained from deposits in that neighbourhood, 
and boatmen who bring the ordinary edible oyster 
to market there assert that banks of the pearl-bearing 
mollusc, at not very distant intervals, abound in every 
direction on the coast. The small shells, of which many 
thousands are taken out and cast away, are of no value ; 
but the full-grown and well-matured shells, rich in their 
iridescent nacreous beauties, are in high estimation and of 



384 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

superior market worth. The fishery has not been prose- 
cuted with that vigour it might be, in consequence of the 
fear entertained of sharks, sword-fish, aUigators, and other 
ravenous monsters which infest the shores of the coasts, 
but which are so comparatively rare about the islands as 
not to create great alarm among the divers. 

Several attempts have been made within the last quarter 
of a century, by companies and individuals, to employ 
diving-bells and apparatus, but in every instance some fault 
or difficulty has occurred to discourage the efforts. Besides 



Fig. 28. 




Diving for pearl shells at Panama. 



the obstructions caused by the irregularities of the sea 
bottom to a complete adjustment of the machines, much 
inconvenience was experienced in moving about from bank 
to bank, it being necessary on every occasion to unship the 
derricks and other fixtures, so as to enable the vessel to be 
sailed from one fishing ground to another. The diving 
armour met with no favour among the natives, who could 
not be induced to adopt it. 

The fishery for mother-of-pearl shells has now been 
carried on upon the California coast in the vicinity of 
Santa Barbara for some 10 or 12 years past, and is also 



Mother- of- Pearl and its Uses. 



385 



prosecuted on the southern coast. Immense quantities 
of pearl shells are at present used in the United States in 
the manufacture of buttons, card-cases, portmonnaies, and 
other fancy articles. Many of the islands about the Cali- 
fornia coast are literally covered with the finest shells for 
this purpose found in the world. On the shores of Anacapa, 
off Santa Cruz, a few men easily load a schooner. 

Shells for ornament are equally appreciated by the 
aboriginal races, and some of their modes of application 
for decorative purposes are effective and curious. Many 
of the Dyaks of Borneo wear a large polished pearl shell 
appended in front to their corslet, and their shields are 
ornamented with these shells. In the ethnological room 
of the British Museum many examples of the uses of pearl 
shell by the Pacific Islanders may be seen. There is espe- 
cially worthy of notice an elaborate corslet from Polynesia, 
studded with mother-of-pearl shells, and beautifully orna- 
mented with a kind of deep swinging fringe made of 
minute pieces of pearl shell, skilfully cut and threaded 
together, evidencing great skill and ingenuity in the absence 
of European tools and appHances. The Pacific Islander 
plunges beneath the waves to seek the joints of his simple 
necklace, or to supply his brothers of the Western World 
with highly prized material for more elaborate ornaments. 
The glittering ear-shell and mother-of-pearl furnish the 
New Zealanders and Fijians with attractive fish-hooks to 
ensnare their prey. 

The export of mother-of-pearl from Manila was, in 1874, 
1035 piculs of 133 lbs. each; and in 1875, 1378 piculs. 
Bold white shells from Manila realized at the London sales 
in January, 1876, £\2 to £\2 5^-. ; bold and medium kinds, 
^11 ^js. 6d.) chicken, £7 ^s. to £^ lys. 6d.; defective 
wormy, £6 2s. 6d. to £y lys. 6d. 



386 The Coinmercial Products of the Sea. 

The author of " Rovings in the Pacific " thus speaks of 
the pearl divers in the South Seas : — It is a curious sight 
to watch the divers : witli scarcely a movement they will 
dart to the bottom like an arrow, examine beneath every 
protruding rock, and on continuing their investigations, by 
a simple movement of the arm will propel themselves 
horizontally through the water, and this at the depth of 
seven and eight fathoms. I timed several by the watch ; 
and the longest period I knew any of them to keep beneath 
the water was a minute and a quarter, and there were only 
two who accomplished this feat. One of them, from his 
great skill, was nicknamed by his companions the ' Ofai ' 
(stone). Rather less than a minute was the usual duration. 
In fine weather they can see the shells, when if the water is 
deep, they dive at an angle for them ; and as the shells ad- 
here firmly to the coral by strong beards, it requires no little 
force to detach them. I was astonished on one occasion at 
witnessing a diver, after one or two ineffectual attempts to 
tear away a large oyster, sink his legs beneath him, and 
getting a purchase with his feet against the coral, use both 
his hands and fairly drag it off. When they dive in very 
deep water, they complain of pains in the ears, and they 
sometimes come up with their noses bleeding; but it is 
rarely that you can get them to attempt such diving, as, let 
the shells be ever so abundant, they will come up and swear 
there are none : the exertion from the great pressure is too 
painfully distressing. It has frequently happened, after a 
set of Avorn-out divers have sworn that no shells could be 
obtained, that a fresh set has come and procured from 50 
to 60 tons without difficulty." 

The diving for pearl shells is one of the principal oc- 
cupations among the natives of the Oceanic Islands in the 
Pacific. A diver will collect from 20 to 40 shells per day 



Mot ker-of -Pearl and its Uses. 387 



according to the state of the sea. The finest are met with 
on sandy bottoms and in the currents. The fishery is 
extensively prosecuted in the archipelago of the islands of 
Pomotou and Gambier, and the shells are chiefly taken to 
Tahiti, where they form a principal article of export, 
averaging about 1000 tons a year. The shells from the 
Pacific are fine, thick, and of a silvery white. The fishery 
about the Gambier Islands is carried on from January to 
April. One of the neighbouring islands — Crescent Island — 
furnishes a smaller oyster of straw-coloured hue. 

The export of mother-of-pearl shells from Tahiti varies 
greatly. In 1845 324 tons were shipped. It then dropped 
to an average of about 200 tons up to 1852. In 1853 as 
much as 600 tons were shipped. The exports then fell off 
to almost none, but in 1868, owing to an increased demand, 
rose to 420 tons. In 1873 the shipments were 328 tons, 
and in 1874 410 tons, valued at 20,530. An export duty 
of \2s. per ton has been imposed since January i, 
1875, in order to check the taking of undersized shells of 
comparatively small value from the pearl oyster banks. 

Besides the above shells, 296 tons of what are called 
Maara shells {Tiu'bo 7nargaritaceiis), valued at ^1480, were 
shipped from Tahiti in 1874. 

Mother-of-pearl shell to the value of ^600, and pearls 
valued at 1600, were shipped from the Navigator's Islands 
in 1858. 

In the Paomotus Islands, mother-of-pearl shell was in 
1873 only worth twopence to threepence per pound ; in 
the following year the price advanced to sixpence per 
pound. 

The pearl oyster of the Pacific is an inhabitant of 
the interior lagoons of certain of the great coral atolls. 
The necessities of its existence appear to be clean, grow- 



388 The Co7mnercial Pi^oduds of the Sea. 

ing- coral, to which to attach itself, free from sand or drift, 
and a considerable influx and outflow of the sea at the 
rise and fall of the tide. That they are not absolutely 
confined to lagoons, but exist also in great quantity under 
the tremendous breakers which beat upon the outer reefs 
(as also, probably, at greater depths in the sea beyond 
them), is a fact not generally known, but is nevertheless 
true. As a proof of this, there are to be found, chiefly on 
the windward side of all coral reefs enclosing lagoons 
(and especially at certain seasons of the year), incredible 
numbers of microscopic pearl oysters, and others of larger 
size, up to the diameter of a shilling, tossed about in the 
foam of the breakers, and travelling with the flood tide over 
the reef towards the calm waters of the lagoon. These 
have been spawned in the deep sea, or in the coral caves 
under the foaming surf, which thunders on the outer reef, 
and seek by some instinct of their nature to make their 
own way into the placid waters enclosed within that stony 
barrier. The oysters which are spawned within the lagoon 
are formed in congeries attached to the parent shells, or 
clustered in vast numbers, fastened to one another, in the 
holes of the rocks. The shell comes to maturity in about 
seven years, at which time its average weight is one 
pound, exclusive of the fish contained in it. The usual size 
is about that of a soup-plate, or 10 inches in diameter, 
although in rare instances they arrive at as much as 18. 
After this the creature perishes, detaches itself from the 
rock, opens to close no more, the animal decays, and the 
shell, becoming coated with coral and other stony parasites 
within and without, loses all value. 

The pearl oyster is gregarious. Wheresoever one is met 
with, there are of a surety vast numbers somewhere in the 
immediate vicinity. They are found in coral caverns, hang- 



Mother -of- Pearl and its Uses. 389 



ing from the roof, linked together after the manner of a 
chain, or clustered in large piles, firmly attached to one 
another. This attachment is only temporary. It has been 
generally believed that the pearl oyster is a fixture, and 
certainly the appearance of the cable by which it binds 
itself to the rock would warrant that supposition. This 
attachment has the look of a large tassel, consisting of an 
infinite number of slender filaments, each about the thick- 
ness of a packthread. It springs from the body of the 
mollusc, and passes through an orifice between the shells, 
immediately next the hinge. During life its colour is 
iridescent, changing from a dark green to a golden bronze, 
exhibiting while in motion various prismatic hues. It 
fastens itself to the rugged rocks with so determined a hold 
as frequently to require the utmost strength of a powerful 
man to tear it from them. Under these circumstances it 
seems incredible that the mollusc should move from place 
to place. But to borrow the words of Galileo, Neverthe- 
less, it does move ; " and under the influences of certain 
causes, these bivalves are in the habit of migrating en masse, 
not for any great distance, it is true, yet from one coral 
shelf to others in the immediate neighbourhood. As con- 
cerns the reason of their exodus, it may possibly be 
an alteration in the temperature of the water, caused by 
a change of weather, or a scarcity of the animalculse upon 
which the oyster feeds. 

The presence of drift-sand is obnoxious to its com- 
fort ; consequently, in the neighbourhood of banks and 
crags composed of that kind of debris it will not live. 
In lagoons which have no tideway it is not found, and 
if introduced there, perishes. The experiment has fre- 
quently been tried, and its failure seems traceable to 
the following cause : — Wheresoever sea- water becomes 



390 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

stagnant in the lagoons of the Pacific, there makes its 
appearance in great numbers a hideous reptile, resembling 
a centipede, which is found from the smallest conceivable 
size up to a foot long. These enter and devour the oyster. 
They may have other enemies, but this one is the most 
notable. 

Under favourable conditions, the life of the pearl oyster 
would seem to be one of uninterrupted ease and passive 
enjoyment. Himself a creature most gloriously beautiful, 
his existence is passed among forms of the most surpassing 
loveliness, bathed in the cool, bright, unpolluted waters of 
the main. There he adheres to the side of some caverned 
cliff, covered with marine vegetation, spreading out his 
ample beard (of which the dazzling colours, when viewed 
in the light of the refracted sunshine, beaming through the 
limpid element in which he dwells, are like the tints of the 
opal), and sweeping around him his snaky tongue, he feeds 
daintily and waxes fat, devoting the surplus of his nacreous 
secretion to the production of a precious gem. 

It may be as well to mention here that pearls are, under 
certain conditions, liable to a form of decay, or loss of 
brilliancy, which impairs their value. A good preservative 
against such a contingency is to keep them in magnesia. 

Surely, his lines are cast in pleasant places, and his 
existence might be one of unalloyed happiness ; neverthe- 
less, he has his afflictions. Almost all well-grown pearl 
oysters are infested with parasites, in the shape of a scarlet 
lobster, about the size of a shrimp. This pestilent intruder 
introduces himself into the shell in conjunction, as it 
appears, with the partner of his joys, and making them- 
selves a bed under the fat, soft body of their victim, resist- 
ing all attempts to dislodge them, rear their interesting 
progeny, and cause no end of pain and annoyance. 



Mother-of- Pearl and its Uses. 



391 



The true cause of the production of pearls is supposed 
by many to be a disease in the animal, for the following 
reasons : — In the first place, wheresoever a pearl fishery 
is found of which the oysters grow to great size, with a 
clean, smooth outer surface, free from knots, humps, worm 
holes, or other blemishes — in fact, presenting every appear- 
ance of healthy and uninterrupted development (which is 
particularly noticeable in lagoons where the shells are wide 
apart) — there will the pearls be extremely scarce ; so much 
so that it would not pay to prosecute such a fishery for the 
profit to be derived from the pearls alone, although the 
shell is proportionately more valuable. On the other hand, 
where shells are closely crowded together, deformed by 
pressure, abnormally thickened about the base, having 
laminae of which their outside is composed forced at their 
edges into -an unnatural contact, so as to induce a belief 
that their growth had been stunted, as likewise being 
studded with warts and knots of a scabby appearance, 
being, moreover, honeycombed with small worm holes 
which penetrate more or less deeply into the nacre — there 
will pearls most exceedingly abound. It is not uncommon 
for as many as 100 pearls to be found in such a shell, 
though the presumption is that where they exist in such 
great numbers, very few, and frequently none whatever, 
will possess any market value. 

But of the presence of the conditions necessary to the 
production of a pearl inside of an oyster there is one very 
significant and certain sign, the faculty of detecting which 
can only be acquired by practice. While the animal is alive, 
the two flat surfaces which appear at the back of the hinge 
present very beautiful prismatic colours ; the cable which 
attaches it to the rock is in like manner remarkable. When 
the shell contains pearls, the prevailing colour of these 



392 The Co7nme7^cial Prodztds of the Sea. 

portions is, while in vigorous life (as when just removed 
from the water), a certain shade of bronze, brilliant but 
evanescent, which is not easy to describe, but very easy to 
be recognized by the experienced fisher. By this means a 
man well used to the work will, with great certainty, pick 
out from a boat-load of living oysters at least 75 per cent, 
of those which contain pearls. 

In the Pacific, all oysters are opened with a knife, 
which, if carefully performed, is the best plan. The best 
instrument for this purpose is a common table-knife of 
good steel, ground thin until the blade is flexible, and 
fitted into a stout handle. A skilful operator will open a 
ton of shells in an ordinary day's work, and not miss the 
pearls if there be any. It cannot be done rapidly without 
frequently cutting the hands (sometimes seriously), as the 
edges are as sharp as glass. But men working for them- 
selves, with a prospect of considerable gain, do not mind 
such accidents. The excitement is like that of gold-mining. 
White men, well up to this work, will never (if they can 
avoid it) allow valuable shells to be opened by any other 
hands than their own, as the natives are sure to steal them 
if they have an opportunity. 

When the shells are landed, the usual custom of the 
fisherman is to sort them into two piles, such as he sup- 
poses to contain pearls to be opened by himself, the rest 
by the natives. The empty shells ought to be at once 
placed under a shed, to protect them from the rays of the 
sun, and so preserve their beautiful colours. In hard times 
it is usual for men to eat the animal which comes out of 
the pearl shell, cooking the residue in an oven of stones, 
and then drying them in the sun ; but they are coarse, 
rank, and disagreeable as food, though perfectly wholesome. 
The pearls are usually lodged in the rong muscle of the 



Mother -of- Pearl and its Uses. 393 



fish, out of which the cable, as it is called, springs. This is 
about the thickness of that part of a man's hand which is 
next to the thumb. The flesh being semi-transparent, the 
pearls are at once seen from their brightness, which refracts 
the light. Their presence is easily detected. Sometimes 
they exist in great numbers in one mollusc, but in such 
cases they are generally small and ill-formed. There are 
other pearls which are found loose in the shell, and these 
are always of very fine quality, perfectly round, and very 
often large. If the shell be carelessly opened, such a pearl, 
if it be in it, invariably falls out, being carried away by the 
beard in the agony of the mollusc when divided by the 
knife, and is thus almost sure to be ejected from the shell. 
Thus it has been that upon the Pacific fisheries by far the 
greater number of the most valuable of these gems have 
been irretrievably lost, for the reason that the natives, how- 
soever experienced, never look for a pearl elsewhere than in 
the muscle of the fish. They squat down on the sand, place 
the shell between their legs, stick in the knife, and wrench 
it open ; and if there be one of these beard pearls (which 
are often worth a hundred of the others), dov/n it slips into 
the sand, and is never seen ; but as a rule not more than 
one oyster out of a thousand contains a pearl upon the 
beard. 

Fine, calm weather is most favourable to pearl-fishing, 
but not indispensable, as the amphibious natives of some 
groups seek the shell by swimming with their heads below 
the surface of the water, and having discovered it, inhale a 
good draught of air, and then go down and fetch up as 
many as they can readily lay hold of. Polynesian divers 
do not use any stones to sink them, or any apparatus to 
close the nostrils, as do the Singalese. They will stay 
under water about a minute or two, sometimes longer, and 



394 T^^^ Commercial Products of the Sea. 

can bring up shell (if put to it) out of 20 fathoms. It 
requires some extra inducement to get them down that 
depth, and of course they cannot stick long at it ; but 
Penrhyn islanders, Paomotans, or Rapa men, can do it if 
they like. Where shells are found at that depth, they are 
of enormous size, as much as i8 inches in diameter, so 
that a pair, when opened out by the hinge, will measure a 
yard across. This work of pearl-diving is very hard, and 
the heat of the sun, aggravated by its radiation from the 
still water of the lagoons, is frightful. The divers rub their 
bodies with oil, otherwise their bronzed skin would peel off 
in huge blisters. 

On many islands women are more skilful at this work 
than men, as, being accustomed from early life to supply 
cockles and clams to the lords of the creation, they are the 
better divers. They are paid in cloth — i.e., cotton print — 
tobacco, hardware, and ornaments, such as earrings, beads, 
dyed feathers, etc., and other articles of small trade too 
various to enumerate, the rates of payment not being by 
any means alike upon different islands, as also the articles 
of barter most greedily sought after in some fisheries not 
being in demand upon others, which necessitates a trading 
agent to have some previous knowledge of the various 
locahties where the shell is obtainable, and of the especial 
likings of the natives, in order to drive a successful traffic. 

Many old fisheries out of which great profit has been 
made (such as Tukau, from whence Messrs. Hort Brothers, in 
1856-57, obtained, in less than 12 months, 120 tons of shell, 
with 1 5 Paomotu divers, and the help of the wives w^hich they 
took to themselves upon the ground) are now supposed to 
be exhausted, or (as in the case of Mangarongaro, where 
there has been for some time back an outcry about small 
shell) so far depreciated by constant fishing, and not giving 



Mother -of- Pearl and its Uses. 



395 



them time to grow to maturity, as to be now of little value. 
This is a mistake in both instances ; the best of the shell 
lies still in deep water, and in the great coral caverns 
underneath the exhausted shelves, from whence the savages, 
by judicious persuasion, can be easily induced to bring 
them to the surface. There are some lagoons in which 
any great quantity, and in some cases no shell whatever, 
is now supposed to exist ; yet there are at those places very 
considerable deposits, which have been overlooked for the 
reason that the fishers, not finding any in the shoal water 
had not thought to look elsewhere." The shallow water at 
these places is skirted by sandy bays, in the neighbour- 
hood of which (as before stated) this mollusc cannot live. 
Again, where the lagoons run into great bights, where there 
is no perceptible current, the shoal water is too hot for 
them ; although in the deep hollows they exceedingly 
abound, but in such manner that they are not easy to be 
seen, unless a man goes down purposely to look for them. 
Pearl oysters are like sponges — certain conditions are 
necessary to their development ; whereas, in other localities 
presenting apparently the same natural aspects, they are 
not found at all. * 

The fishery for mother-of-pearl shells in Western Aus- 
tralia is prosecuted on the north-west coast, about 1300 
miles from Fremantle ; vessels ranging from five ton cutters 
to large schooners are engaged in it, the work being carried 
on by native and Malay divers. The natives are very 
expert at diving, but cannot be depended on to remain 
steadily at work, and though the Malays have to be paid 
better wages they are found more profitable and far less 
trouble. The shells average about one pound each, and 
are worth £j to £Z the cwt. ; so that on a good bank 

* H. B. Sterndale in Journal of Applied Science. 



39t> The CoDimeixial Products of the Sea. 

the pursuit is very fruitful. The experience of several 
seasons tends to show that the banks are recovered in 
the course of a year or two, and that the industry has 
thus a tolerably permanent character. The nearest port 
is at Nicol Bay, where there is a town and a Government 
staff. All boats engaged in the fishery pay a license of 
£i per ton on the registered tonnage, but never less than 
^5 or more than £^o, and the revenue derived from this 
source is appropriated to services connected with the 
northern settlements. 

The fishery for pearls is carried on at Shark's Bay, 
latitude about 26°, under the same regulations and in a 
somewhat similar manner. In winter, however, iron-wire 
dredges are substituted for diving, and these are drawn 
across the banks. Hitherto the small shells containing 
pearls have been found almost exclusively in an inlet, 
named (curiously enough) Useless Harbour, which is about 
ten miles wide, the banks lying in the middle of it. The 
men camp on shore, and the boats, which are chiefly small 
cutters, go out at eight a.m. till two or three p.m. A boat 
with four men may bring back eight sacks of shells, and 
these are thrown on to the large heap on shore, for the 
animal to rot, when the shells are easily opened. Of course, 
the product is more uncertain than in the shell fishery. You 
may find large and valuable pearls, but they are the ex- 
ception ; the average-sized pearls found are remunerative ; 
but it is precarious if carried on on a small scale, and the 
banks in Useless Harbour are showing signs of exhaustion, 
while at present no other satisfactory deposits have been 
found. The export of pearls, however, has gradually in- 
creased, and some have realized £200 to ^300 each. 

The pearl shell fishery of Western Australia is be- 
coming a most important trade on the Australian north- 



Mot ker-of- Pearl and its Uses. 



397 



west coast, between the fifteenth and twenty-fifth parallels 
of south latitude. Less than seven years ago this trade did 
not exist, but within the last three years it has gone on in- 
creasing in importance, till in 1876 240 tons of shells were 
exported to London and 67 tons to Singapore, chiefly 
for transmission thence to the same destination. The 
price now being got per ton is from ^^250 to £2'^o. The 
trade is chiefly supported by the few squatters resident on 
the north-western coast, or by small capitalists, who proceed 
in the proper season, in small craft of from 40 to 80 tons, 
to the coast where the shells are found ; and there engage 
Malay, Japanese, or Australian natives as divers at almost 
nominal wages. Last season was a prosperous one, and 
the trade promises to be of very great importance. 

Mother-of-pearl shells of a fine quality now form a 
large article of export from Western Australia. There 
have been some recent imports also from Gambia, but I do 
not believe this shell is met with on the West African coast. 

In China there is a good demand for mother-of-pearl 
shells. They are used for carving and inlaying, and are 
also manufactured into beads, card-counters or " fish " (as 
they are often termed, from the shape into which they are 
cut), spoons, etc. ; but they do not seem to be used there 
for buttons, as in Europe. Three kinds of beads are made 
in China from mother-of-pearl, one perfectly round, the 
second not quite round, and the third cut or figured. The 
card-counters are made in various shapes, round, oval, and 
oblong, with ornamental figures and engravings on them. 
They are put up for sale in sets of 140 pieces. A few 
years ago a set of very elaborately carved or engraved 
mother-of-pearl shells were sent from China, intended for 
dessert plates ; but, although elegant in the workmanship 
and labour bestowed on the carving, and most curious, 



39^ The Comme7'cial Products of the Sea, 



they were not suited for the purpose intended, and there- 
fore unappreciated here. 

A similar mode of ornamentation, but less artistic, and 
of a much coarser character, is familiar in the carved 
" pilgrim shells," which are brought from Bethlehem and 
other parts of the Holy Land, having religious legends and 
figures engraved on them. 

One process of working pearl shell is similar to that of 
engraving metals in relief by the aid of corrosive acids 
and the etching-point. The shell is first divided as may 
be necessary, and the designs or patterns drawn upon it 
with an opaque varnish \ strong nitric acid is then brushed 
over the shell repeatedly, until the parts untouched or 
undefended by the varnish are sufficiently corroded or 
eaten away by the acid. The varnish being now washed 
off, the device, which the acid has not touched, is found to 
be nicely executed. If the design is to be after the manner 
of common etching on copper, the process upon the shell 
is precisely the same as the process upon the metal. 

Several other shells, having sufficiently brilliant tints in 
their nacreous or iridescent hues, are used for some of the 
industrial and ornamental purposes to which mother-of- 
pearl is applied, and it will be necessary to give a brief 
notice of these. The ear-shells {Haliotis family) are much 
used for inlaying work by the Birmingham manufacturers, 
to give the varied shades to papier-mache ornaments and 
fancy articles. They are sometimes called in trade " aurora 
shells." There are about seventy species of these splendid 
shells, of which we have one common British species of 
small size [H. tuberciilatd), with a silvery hue. In Jersey, 
where it abounds, it is called the ormer." These shells 
have a row of holes following the course of the spine, and 
have been named ear-shells from their resemblance in form 



Mother-of-Pea7d and its Uses. 399 



to the cartilage of the human ear. The species of the 
warmer latitudes furnish the most brilliant shades of colour. 
Haliotis iris, of New Zealand, is green, highly iridescent. 
H. Mida, a Cape of Good Hope species, when deprived of 
its yellowish-brown epidermis, is found more or less tinged 
with orange and other colours. Some handsome species 
brought from Japan and other localities are H. rufescens, 
H. splendens, and H. Cracherodii. The green ear-shell is 
much used for fancy buttons, studs, sleeve-links, buckles, 
and earrings. 

The people of Guernsey and Jersey ornament their 
houses with the shells of the ormer, disposing them fre- 
quently in quincunx order, and placing them so that their 
bright interior may catch the rays of the sun. Some of 
the large and splendid intertropical species, which, after 
removing the outer layer, take a polish almost equalling 
the natural brilliancy of the interior, might be converted 
into dishes for holding fruit ; if mounted with good taste, 
their indescribable iridescence and prismatic colours would 
materially add to the richness of an elegant table. The 
ear-shells consist of numerous plates resembling tortoise- 
shell, alternating with thin layers of nacre, exhibiting, 
when magnified, a series of irregular folds. 

Under the name of Abalones the animal is dried for 
export by the Chinese in California, and by the Japanese. 
The pearly shell is used in inlaying, for jewellery, and, 
when polished, as mantel ornaments. Coarsely pulverized, 
it is used for decorating letters in ornamental sign-painting. 

Another shell much used for its opal tints, its glistening 
colours of light and dark green, soft yellow, and bright and 
beautiful pink blended together, is the Turbo oleariiLs or 
marmoratits, which passes in commerce under the name of 
the "green snail." These shells used to form the royal 



400 The Commercial P 7^0 ducts of the Sea. 

drinking-cups of the Scandinavian monarchs, and they may 
often be met with, elegantly mounted in silver and set with 
jewels, in museums. Small shells of another species, the 
Turk's cap [TiLvbo sarmaticiis), are sometimes set as pipe- 
bowls, and sections are much used for making little fancy 
boxes, purses, caskets, scent-bottles, postage-stamp cases, 
tablet-covers, small baskets with metallic handles, buttons, 
earrings, ring-trays, brooches, etc. 

The beautiful effects presented by the nacreous portion 
of shells is produced, as we have seen, by the disposition 
of single membranaceous layers in folds or plaits, lying 
more or less obliquely to the general surface. The tints of 
many shells are concealed during life by a dull external 
coat, and the pearly halls of the nautilus are seen by no 
other eyes than ours. This shell, when bisected, displays 
the pearly chambers for which the genus is celebrated. 
Fine specimens of the nautilus are often converted by the 
inhabitants of the East into drinking-cups, on the surface 
of which they engrave various devices and ornaments. 
When the outer coating (which is usually of a dingy white 
colour) is entirely removed, the beautiful pearly appearance 
of the shell becomes visible. Sometimes the nautilus shell 
is mounted as a stand for flowers on the table or mantel- 
piece. 

Pearl shells are often employed for ornamentation in 
the papier-mache manufacture work, which, though it has 
gone much out of fashion in this country, is still in exten- 
sive demand in America and on the continent. The 
articles chiefly made are small fancy tables, chairs, trays, 
portfolio covers, and such like. There are two ways of 
employing the pieces of pearl shell. When a considerable 
number of pieces of thin shell are required of the same 
size and pattern, they are cemented together with glue, 



Mother -of- Pearl and its Uses. 401 

and the device or figure drawn upon the outer plate. They 
are then held in a vice or clamp, and cut out as one plate 
with a fine saw, or wrought into form with files; drilling tools 
can be employed to assist in the operation. To separate 
the pieces, the cemented shells are thrown into warm water, 
which softens the glue and divides them. Cast or sheet 
iron and papier-mache are the materials upon which pearl is 
generally fixed or inlaid. The process is as follows : — 

If the article be of cast iron, it is well cleaned from the 
sand which usually adheres to the casting, and is blackened 
with a coat of varnish and lamp-black. When this is 
thoroughly dried, another coat of japan or black varnish 
is spread evenly upon it. Before the varnish becomes too 
dry, pieces of pearl cut in the form of leaves, roses, or such 
flowers as the fancy of the artist may dictate or the 
character of the article may require, are laid upon it, and 
pressed down with the finger, and they immediately ad- 
here to the varnished surface. The work is then placed 
in a heated oven, and kept there for several hours, or until 
the varnish is perfectly dried. It is then taken from the 
oven, and another coat of varnish applied indiscriminately 
on the surface of the pearl and the previous coating, and 
again placed in the oven till dry. This process is repeated 
several times. The varnish is then scraped off the pearl 
with a knife, and the surface of the pearl and the varnish 
around it is found to be quite even. The pearl is then 
polished with a piece of pumice-stone and water, and the 
surface of the varnish is rubbed smooth with powdered 
pumice-stone, moistened with water. It is in this un- 
finished state that the pearl has the appearance of being 
inlaid, and from which it derives its name. Its final 
beauty and finish depend altogether on the skill of the 
artist who now receives it. 

2 D 



402 The Commercial Pi^oducts of the Sea. 



CHAPTER III. 

PEARLS AND THE PEARL FISHERIES. 

Great demand for pearls — Mode of formation — Large and valuable pearls — 
Shells on which they are formed — Statistics of the Ceylon pearl fisheries — 
Mode of prosecuting the fishery — Classification of pearls — Value of pearls 
imported into England — Persian Gulf fishery — Panama fishery — Pacific 
fisheries — Pearls from river mussels — Celebrated pearls. 

Having treated of mother-of-pearl and its applications, we 
are necessarily led next to the consideration of the much- 
prized pearls themselves, which are held in such high esti- 
mation for personal decoration by ladies, and even by the 
stronger-minded sex in the East, where Indian princes are 
radiant in pearls, and the trappings of their elephants are 
profusely covered with these gems of the ocean. The 
native princes, in their interview a few years ago with the 
Viceroy of India at Barwal, had their elephants beautifully 
caparisoned with masses of pearls on the head. Holkar 
had his chest completely covered with strings of pearls and 
emeralds. This much-admired ornament is appreciated 
in all parts of Eastern Asia, from the Himalayas to the 
Pacific, and from Manchuria to the Straits, being in requisi- 
tion for the decorations of shoes, girdles, earrings, neck- 
laces, and head-dresses, and for the embellishment of 
popular divinities. The frequent mention of pearls in 
Chinese history shows the value set upon them by the 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries, 



403 



Imperial court, and by all who were ambitious of adorning 
their persons. Pearls of two and three inches in circum- 
ference are spoken of Mingti, a Chinese monarch of the 
early part of the tenth century, celebrated for his extrava- 
gance, had such a profusion of pearls ornamenting his 
canopy, the trappings of his horses and chariots, and 
decorating his person and the persons of his nobles, that 
the road was often strewn with the gems which the gorgeous 
cortege dropped in its train. A custom was prevalent, 
termed " scattering in the palace," in which embassies from 
tributary States strewed pearls about in abundance; indeed, 
on one occasion, a garment composed of strings of pearls 
was thus presented. 

It is debatable ground whether pearls come strictly 
under the term " gems," but they are, at least, very precious 
in price and general estimation. The value of the pearls 
owned in Europe, America, and India must be consider- 
able, if we consider what have been the accumulation of 
ages, how eagerly the search for them is still prosecuted, 
and how anxious those having wealth at command are to 
possess the choicest of their kind. We have but very im- 
perfect data on which to frame any reliable estimate of the 
Western commerce in pearls. A large dealer has assured 
me that from ;^ 100,000 to ;^ 120,000 is about the annual 
value of those received here. If we examine the official 
Board of Trade returns we find that the declared and 
computed value of the pearls, set or unset, imported into 
the United Kingdom in the 18 years ending with 1870, 
exceeded i^i,ooo,ooo sterling. 

This, be it remembered, is much under the true value, 
and relates only to Great Britain, whilst quantities are 
brought in unrecorded. If we consider also how many are 
sent to the East, and are sold on the continent and in 



404 The Coinmei^cial Products of the Sea. 

America, we may be able to form a slight conception of 
the great importance of pearls in an artistic and commercial 
point of view. The 10 fisheries for pearls carried on, on 
the coast of Ceylon, between 1833 ^-^^ 1863, brought in to 
the Ceylon Government ^^300,000, but what the speculators 
made by the pearls they obtained it is quite impossible 
to state. 

The ordinary pearls of commerce are an excretion of 
superimposed concentric laminae, of a peculiarly fine and 
dense nacreous substance, consisting of membrane and 
carbonate of lime. The best are obtained from bivalves, 
but some are formed by univalves, which are more curious 
than valuable. 

In the class of moUusca which inhabit the seas and 
fresh waters, most of those with shells secrete a horny and 
calcareous substance, that is, combined animal and mineral, 
formed on the interior of the shell during their growth, and 
they also form that admired substance known as mother-of- 
pearl. The superabundance of this secretion is often pro- 
duced in drops, balls, or tuberosities, adhering to the in- 
terior of the valves, or lodged in the fleshy part of the 
animal. In the latter instance they are of a spherical 
shape, and increased annually by a layer of pearly matter ; 
they remain brilliant, translucid, and hard. 

At the Maritime International Exhibition which was 
held at Naples in 1871, the various ocean treasures em- 
ployed in art were displayed, in great profusion and 
magnificence. Even the Italian journals became poetical 
and enthusiastic upon the manifold attractions of the hall 
of pearls and coral. Marchisini, of Florence, showed a 
wonderful collection of pearls ; among others, a brown 
pearl, valued at ^5000, and three necklaces of large white 
oriental pearls, finished and ornamented with brilliants, etc. 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries. 405 



To this exhibitor was awarded the great gold medal, net 
for finish as works of art (for those of Franconini and 
R. Phillips, of London, which were far superior, were passed 
over), but merely as the most rare and valuable collection 
of pearls shown. 

Bellega has a high reputation for Italian jewellery. His 
collection at Naples also received a medal from the jury, 
and included a diadem of pearls, turquoises, and brilliants, 
and a variety of other objects. 

Phillips Brothers, of Cockspur Street, exhibited a very 
large and curious-shaped pearl, tastefully mounted and set 
as a triton. 

The best pearls are of a clear, bright whiteness, free 
from spot or stain, with the surface naturally smooth and 
glossy. Those of a round form are preferred, but the 
larger pear-shaped ones are esteemed for earrings. Ac- 
cording to the position the pearls occupy, they partake of 
the character of the shell near which they are formed. 
Thus, the pearls from the centre of the nacreous shells are 
of the usual pearly structure of those shells, while the pearls 
formed on or near the outer coat of the Pinna squamosa 
are of the same brown colour and prismatic texture as that 
part of the shell. Those from the Placiuia placenta are of 
a lead colour, while even from the true pearl oysters 
{Avicida margaritiferd) they are frequently of a light, 
semi-transparent straw colour. Those formed on the part 
of the common mussel shells are of a bluish colour. 

The dark-coloured pearls are usually little esteemed ; 
in general they are obtained from the black-edged or smoky 
mother-of-pearl shell. Pearls of a considerable size are 
sometimes found attached to the shell, and being carefully 
removed and filed, are strung with the perfect pearls, as the 
convex part of the pearl which was in contact with the 



4o6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

shell is often of the same size and perfect form with the 
part which projects beyond the surface of the shell. 

Pearls of this description, but not so perfect at the 
point of contact with the shell, serve the jeweller equally 
well for the purpose of setting as the perfect pearl. Some 
of those on the shell, and others detached, may be seen in 
the fine collection of Mr. Beresford Hope at the South 
Kensington Museum. Mr. Hope possesses the largest 
known pearl, weighing three ounces, or 1800 grains ; its 
length is two inches, and its circumference four and a half 
inches. The drawers and cabinet of pearls of Messrs. Hunt 
and Roskell, of London, are an attractive sight to inspect. 

The Duke of Abercorn has a wonderfully fine pearl 
drop. The beautiful pariLves of pearls of the Countess of 
Dudley won the admiration of the thousands who visited 
the London Exhibition of 1872. One necklace alone of 
singularly fine pearls was valued at ;£'30,ooo. Many other 
remarkable sets of pearl ornaments belonging to the nobility 
and gentry were also shown there. 

Although fine pearls are for the most part strung pure 
and simple, requiring nothing to add to their intrinsic value 
and beauty, yet occasionally the taste and art of the 
jeweller are called in to combine them into graceful forms 
of ornament, with the addition of diamonds, for earrings, 
brooches, coronets, and other head-ornaments. 

Very often, in purchasing job lots and miscellaneous 
collections of rough pearls, some extraordinary finds are 
made. Thus, among some apparently of small value from 
Australia, bought by Messrs. Hunt and Roskell, one was 
discovered which sold for £ZoQ ; and several fine large 
pearls had been destroyed in colour and value from the 
aborigines having roasted the oysters which contained them. 
Frequently a very fine pearl will be found attached to the 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries. 407 

mother-of-pearl shells, which the pearl workers purchase 
at the London sales in bulk. When carefully detached, 
high prices have thus been frequently obtained. The natives, 
when the oysters are collected, generally drill a hole in the 
mother-of-pearl shell, or break it up to get out any real 
pearls there may be in it ; but occasionally they miss one, 
and Mr. Wright, a pearl-button manufacturer, states that 
about 15 years ago a workman in Birmingham found, 
in one of the shells he was employed upon, a very large 
and perfectly formed pearl, which he disposed of for ^^40, 
and which was afterwards resold for ^200. Small pearls 
are frequently found in this way, some perfect, and others 
only of irregular formation. In the instance referred to, 
the pearl was perfect in form, and of the shape and size of 
a small damson. 

The jeweller will often split a pearl, which serves for 
setting solid. The Scotch river pearls are very frequently 
set with a solid mass of gold. 

The Russian Cabinet, which purchases largely for the 
Czar, possesses a magnificent and valuable collection of 
pearls. The late emperor shared with his wife a fancy for 
choice and fine pearls, and had them sought for all over 
the world. They had to fulfil two conditions rarely to be 
met with. They must be perfect spheres, and they must 
be virgin pearls, for he would buy none that had been 
worn by others. After 25 years' search, he at last suc- 
ceeded in presenting his consort with a necklace such as 
the world had never seen before. The Crown Prince of 
Prussia presented his bride at her marriage with a splendid 
necklace, of 36 fine pearls, which excited the envy of 
many a lady who saw it. This admiration for fine pearls 
has been a common weakness in all ages and in all 
countries. 



4o8 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

It was long supposed that pearls were only formed in 
bivalve shells, and it was therefore difficult to understand 
what shell it was that yielded the pink pearl, for no known 
bivalve of any size has such a coloured inner surface. It 
is now ascertained that the pink pearl is produced, among 
others, by one of the porcelaneous or chank shells {Tiir- 
binella scolymiis). All doubt on this head is set at rest 
by a specimen of this shell in the British Museum, where 
a fine large pink pearl has been caught and embedded in 
the shell, near its aperture, just as it was about to escape. 
The pearl is exactly like the internal surface of that shell. 
These pink pearls are also produced by the common 
fountain-shell of the West Indies {S trombus gigas), and 
are known in commerce as conch pearls. Some very fine 
pink pearls were shown from the Bahamas at the London 
International Exhibition of 1862. These pearls, however, 
fade, as do the pink cameo brooches. The giant clam 
{Tridacna gigas), the common oyster {Ostrea edulis), the 
horse-mussel (Modiola vidgaris), and many other bivalves, 
yield pearls, but they are generally opaque and valueless. 

Small seed-pearls are obtained in the Eastern seas from 
the semi-transparent molluscous shell, Placiina placenta or 
orbiciUaris, and are chiefly used for medicinal purposes in 
China. Some of the finer ones are selected as jewellers' 
pearls, but these are of a different character and lustre to 
the pearls produced by the Avictda margaritifera and the 
Meleagrina margaritifera, which is abundant in the Sulu 
Archipelago. 

Although pearls are obtained in the seas and rivers of 
many parts of the world, yet the fisheries have been prose- 
cuted on a large scale, for the purposes of commerce, in 
only three or four localities — in the Gulf of Manaar, on 
the pearl banks of Ceylon, Aripoo, and Tuticorin in 



Pea7ds and the Pearl Fisheries. 409 



Southern India ; in the Persian Gulf, ofif the island of 
Bahrein ; in the Bay of Panama, and the Gulf of California, 
and on the shores of Australia about the Pacific Islands. 

The revenue derived from the pearl fishery in Ceylon is 
uncertain and precarious, but worth fostering. The Dutch 
had no fishery for 27 years, from 1768 to 1796, and they 
were equally unsuccessful from 1732 till 1746. Under the 
British Government, the right of pearl fishing was let to 
Mr. John Jervis, a merchant of the East India Company ; 
but Mr. Jervis got nervous, and allowed some natives to go 
in for the chances at ^60,000, who are said to have cleared 
three times the amount by this adventure. The fishery 
right, in 1797, was purchased by Candappa Chetty, a native 
of Jaffna, for 10,000 ; but the fishery was prolonged, and 
on counting up, the net profits were found to be ;^i44,ooo. 
The same renter purchased the fishery of 1798 for 140,000. 
The fishery was again prolonged, and yielded a clear 
revenue (including other gains) of i^i 92,000. The banks 
having been exhausted, the proceeds of the fishery in 1799 
fell to ;^30,ooo. From 1799 till 1802 inclusive, the average 
yearly produce ranged from 12,000 to 5,000 per 
annum; in 1806,^^35,000; but in 1814 the proceeds were 
;^i05,i87. There was no fishery from 1820 to 1827. In 
the next five years, from 1828 to 1833, it averaged about 
i^30,ooo. In 1834 there was no fishery. In 1835 it brought 
in upwards of ^^40,000. In the next two years it declined 
to i^25,8oo and ;^io,6oo respectively, and then the fishery 
was not resumed until 1855, when about £11,000 was 
realized. 

The pearl fishery of i860 was, as regards revenue to the 
Government, nearly the most successful that has taken place 
since the fisheries were resumed. It realized £48,216 ; and 
but for the change of weather which set in at the end of 



410 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



March and the outbreak of cholera which ensued, there is 
every reason to believe that the proceeds would have 
reached i^6o,ooo. The great increase in the selling price of 
the oysters was owing to the profit (which could not have 
been less than 300 per cent.) made by the speculators in 
1858. The fame of this brought all India into the field as 
competitors. Money was as plentiful as buyers, and the 
same oysters which averaged £1 i()s. per 1000 in 1858, in 
1859 produced an average of los., the highest rate paid 
being no less than £d> Ss. The two later fisheries realized 
still higher prices. There is no reason to doubt that, even 
at these prices, large profits were made. 

The fishery of i860 produced £2^6,6^2 to the Govern- 
ment, the average price paid per 1000 for the oysters 
being as much as £1^ 4^"., the highest price given being 
^18 per 1000. In the fishery of 1863 the sum realized was 
a little over 1,000, the average price paid for oysters 
by speculators being £6 i^s. per 1000. 

Ceylon has, during the last 80 years, derived from her 
pearl fisheries more than a million of money, namely : — 



In the last-named year 1527 boats were employed fish- 
ing on 30 days, the number of oysters obtained being 
6,849,720. 

Experience has shown that but few pearls, and those 
of but slight value, can be looked for in oysters under five 



1st series, 179610 1809 
2nd 1814 to 1820 
3rd 1828 to 1837 

4th ,, 1855 to i860 
Fishery of 1863 



;^5i7,48i 
89,909 
227,132 

117.454 
51,018 
10,120 



1874 
1877 



18,952 



,032,066 



Pearls and the Pearl Fishe^nes. 4 1 1 



years old ; from the fifth to the sixth year, however, the 
pearl oyster doubles in value, and again doubles should 
it survive to the seventh year. If removed too soon the 
pearls are imperfectly formed, and, on the other hand, if 
allowed to remain too long, the fish dies and is lost. 

The Ceylon pearl fishery usually lasts for a month or 



Fig. 29. 




I. Meleagrina margaritifera, the mother-of-pearl shell. 2. Anodonta 
herculea, the Chinese pearl mussel. 

six weeks, commencing about the second week in March, 
and is carried on to the middle or end of April, when the 
sea is usually calm and the currents least perceptible. The 
following is from an account of the fishery which I pub- 
lished in my " Technologist," vol. ii. p. 546 : — " The boats 
employed are divided into two squadrons, each consisting 



4 1 2 The Com77tercial Products of the Sea. 

generally of 60 or 70 boats. The squadrons fish alternately. 
Each boat has its company, five diving-stones, and two 
divers to each stone. All the men are numbered as well 
as the boat, and in the Government shed or platform there 
are divisions with corresponding numbers, so that each 
boat knows the precise spot where its oysters are to be 
deposited. 

"The squadron starts usually between 11 and 12 at 
night, so as to reach the fishing ground by sunrise. The 
banks are about 12 miles from the shore. As soon as the 
boats have arrived the signal is given, and the diving-stones 
go over the sides of the boats with a low rumbling noise. 
One diver goes down with each. The other holds the 
signal rope, watches the motions of his comrade, draws up 
first the stone, then the net in which the oysters are lodged 
as torn from the bank, and then the diver himself Each 
pair of divers keep their oysters separate from the rest in 
large nets or baskets, so that luck and labour determine the 
remuneration of the pair. 

" When one man is tired the other takes his place ; but 
they do not dive alternately, as too much time would 
be lost by changing. The man who has been down, after 
remaining a minute or so upon the surface, during which 
he either floats without apparent exertion or holds on by 
a rope, descends again, and repeats the process, until he 
requires rest, when he takes his turn on board. This con- 
tinues without interruption for six hours. Indeed, the 
stimulus of self-interest brought to bear upon all is so 
great, that as the time approaches for striking work, the 
efforts of the men increase, and there is never so much 
activity as when the heat is most intense, the sky without 
a cloud, the sun glaring frightfully, and the sea like molten 
lead. At last the second gun is fired ; every stone goes 



Pearls and the Pea^d Fisheries, 413 



down simultaneously for one more haul, and then every 
hand is employed in making sail, and each boat has her 
head to the shore. When they reach the beach, in an 
instant the divers are in the water, and each pair carries 
the results of a day's work to the shed. Then they divide 
the oysters into four heaps. In two hours the whole of the 
boats are unloaded, unless delayed by contrary winds. The 
divers' share is removed, and the three-fourths belonging 
to Government left in the shed, divided into heaps of 1000 
each, the doors are locked, guards stationed, and everything 
is in readiness for the public sale. 

This system appears peculiarly well suited to the 
country, and to the objects in view, by bringing to bear 
upon the daily results of the fishery the largest amount of 
private interests and the smallest amount of Government 
control. No man could be forced into doing what the 
divers do voluntarily. No fixed payment would induce 
them to dive so often in the day, or to unload their boats 
with equal despatch." 

The market is a curious sight, always full of people 
bargaining, purchasing and selling a variety of things. 
Spectacled Moormen from the coasts of India, with tiny 
scales and weights before them, and brass pans for sizing 
the pearls, looking at one strangely from their little huts as 
he passes by, with that expression of cunning and clever- 
ness at driving a bargain so characteristic amongst their 
class. Money-changers and petty shopkeepers, with their 
money and wares spread out on white cloth, line the 
streets. 

The Tuticorin fishery, on the Madras side of the Strait, 
yielded, in 1861, about 10,000 revenue. In the middle of 
the last century the fishery here brought in to the Dutch 
East India Company a yearly tribute of ^20,000. On the 



414 T^he Commercial Products of the Sea, 

Tinnevelly side the Dutch fisheries were also incessant, 
almost annual. After the English occupation of Tuticorin 
there was a fishery in 1822, which yielded a profit of 
3,000 to the Indian revenue. Another in 1830 netted 
;^ 1 0,000. 

The pearl oyster appears inclined to bid farewell to the 
shores of Tinnevelly for ever, and various reasons are being 
alleged as to the cause of its gradual but sure disappear- 
ance. We do not pretend to be able to solve the problem, 
but it is well known that fish cannot live in water beyond a 
certain density, or be exposed to a pressure of more than 
three atmospheres, and it is also known that marine animals 
derive from the water the solid matter which forms their 
shells. Now, the disgusting filth which the returning tide 
carries twice in the 24 hours from the beach at Tuticorin, 
to say nothing of the contribution from the shipping, is 
sufficient to contaminate the water to such an extent that 
moUusca less dehcate than the pearl oyster might, without 
exaggeration, be supposed to flee the polluted waters. 

Between 1830 and 1856 there were 13 examinations of 
the banks, and on each occasion it was found that there 
was not a sufficient number of grown oysters to yield a 
profitable fishery, and none was attempted again until i860. 
In that year the sale of the Government share of oysters 
by public auction began at 1 5 rupees, and gradually rose to 
40 rupees (^4) per 1000. As many as 15,874,500 shells 
were sold, realizing upwards of 20,000 as the net result to 
Government, exclusive of all expenses and of the shares 
allowed to the divers. In 1861 the results of the fishery 
were equally satisfactory. The price began at 7 to 8 
per 1000 shells, and afterwards sank to £a^, and 34^". 
In 1862 the banks were found to be in a most unpromising 
state, and no fishery was attempted till 1874. 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries, 415 

The net revenue derived from the Ceylon fishery for 
the nine years prior to 1834 was £i\^,OQO \ in 1835 it pro- 
duced ;^40,ooo. In 1837 there was a small fishery which 
realized only £\o,6'i\. There was no fishery again until 
1855, when about the same amount was obtained. In i860 
the fishery was resumed, and brought in over 36,000. 

In 1877, after two years' rest, the pearl oyster beds 
were again thrown open to the divers. The result of the 
limited period of fishing was looked forward to with con- 
siderable interest, as upon its success depend the hopes of 
the restoration of this decaying industry, and the nature of 
the treatment to which the beds will in future be subjected. 
Pearl oysters — or rather mussels, for the bivalve that yields 
the precious gems is not a real oyster, but a variety of the 
mussel — produce the largest pearls when they have attained 
a growth of about four years, and it is consequently the aim 
of the divers to secure only those which have reached that 
age. It has consequently been the policy of the authorities 
in Ceylon to permit the fishing of different beds only once 
every four years, leaving a comparatively small number of 
molluscs to replenish the stock. But the objections to that 
system are that, owing to the numerous enemies by which 
the shell-fish are surrounded, and other circumstances con- 
nected with their development, banks of oysters have been 
known almost totally to disappear within a single year, 
when left unfished for more than three or four years ; so 
that, though the temptation to leave the beds untouched 
for that period, in the hope of securing a supply of large 
pearls, is very great, the danger that the whole produce 
may be lost more than counterbalances it. The object, 
therefore, which the Government has in view in the present- 
operations is to see what is the proper length of time which 
ought to elapse between different fishings in the same beds. 



41 6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



Experimental divings made during the last few years 
showed there was on the banks which are now being fished 
a harvest of some 10,000,000 oysters. The average number 
of pearls to be expected from this quantity of oysters is 
about two per cent. The average value per 1000 oysters 
depends, of course, upon the size of the gems. The theory 
is that pearl oysters in the last year of their existence 
double their value all round. If 1000 oysters produce 
pearls — large and small together — worth £20, the catch is 
considered a very good one. A hundred tiny pearls the 
size of a pin's head are not worth one of the size of a small 
dried pea, so that the fishing is practically a lottery, in 
which the prizes are very few and the blanks may be 
numbered by millions. Indeed, the manner in which the 
boats are selected, and the order in which they fish, are 
arranged by lots, the boats being placed in divisions of 
about 50 each, and sent out one division at a time, till all 
have had an equal number of chances. About 250 boats 
are generally employed in the actual fishing operations, 
and no fewer than 10,000 people are directly or indirectly 
engaged in the industry. In the great fishery in 1874 
the number of oysters taken in one bank alone was 
1,250,000, which sold for about 101,200 rupees, or ;^I0,I20. 
These figures will give some idea of the importance of 
the fishery, and the desirability of restoring, if possible, its 
productive powers, since the Government, as well as the 
divers themselves, derive a considerable revenue from the 
sale of the pearls. 

After the pearls are collected they are classed, weighed, 
and valued. The method of classing them is by passing 
them through a succession of brass cullenders, called 
baskets, of the size and shape of large saucers. There 
are 10, and sometimes 12, of these cullenders : the first has 



Pea7'ls and the Pearl Fisheries. 417 



0 holes in it, and the pearls that do not pass through 
lese holes, after being well shaken, are called of the 
ventieth basket. The succeeding baskets have 30, 50, 80, 
DO, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000 holes ; each basket giving the 
ame, corresponding with its number of holes, to the pearls 
lat do not pass through ; so that there are pearls of 
ventieth, thirtieth, fiftieth, and so on, to the thousandth 
asket. The pearls which do not pass through the eleventh 
r twelfth baskets, when they are used, are called masie. 
he pearls having been sorted into 10 or 12 sizes by means 
r the baskets, are carefully examined in regard to their 
sauty of shape and colour, and each size, except the masie, 
susceptible of seven distinct descriptions. After being 
assed, they are weighed and valued according to their 
:spective qualities. The price of pearls is expressed at a 
irtain rate per chow, which term has reference to the 
aality ascertained from the size, the form, the colour, and 
le weight. 

The number of pearls which are valuable as gems, and 
srmanently retained as such, is limited ; the larger pro- 
Drtion of the small seed pearls, and of the defective ones, 
■e used as ingredients of a highly prized native electuary ; 
id occasionally the extravagance is committed of reducing 
lem to dmnam, or lime, to be used with betel-leaf and 
•eca-nut as a masticatory. The pearl-powder of the 
)othecary was even a sovereign remedy for many diseases 
this country a century ago ; but whether it were made of 
iarls is questionable. 

Declared Value of the Pearls imported into the United 



Kingdom. 



1853. 
1854 
1855 



• •• ;^6q,735 



41,001 
30.476 



2 E 



41 8 The Com7ne7^cial Prodticts of the Sea. 



1856 ... ... ... ... ;^56,l62 

1857 ... ... ... ... 62,805 

1858 78,559 

1864 ... ... ... ... 56,236 

1865 45,789 

1866 ... ... ... ... 51,816 

1867 ... ... ... ... 38,096 

1868 ... ... ... ... 36,079 

1869 ... ... ... ... 45*403 

1870 ... ... ... ... 16,675 

No later official returns have been published. 

The average annual imports of pearls into France are 
thus given in the French official tables : — 

Grammes. Value in francs. 

Ten years ending 1856 ... 82,100 ... 1,265,951 

1866 ... 155,300 ... 2,620,863 

„ 1876 ... 118,078 ... 2,007,333 

The next large Eastern fishery is that in the Persian 



Gulf. Colonel Pelly, in an official report to the Bombay 
Government in 1863, stated that the pearl oyster beds ex- 
tend at intervals almost along the entire length of the 
Arabian coast of the Gulf. No person other than the coast 
Arabs is considered to have any right of diving ; and it is 
probable that any intrusion on the part of foreigners would 
create a general ferment along the coast line. The richest 
banks are those of the islands of Bahrein. They are found 
at all depths, from a little below high-water mark down to 
17 and 18 fathoms. It is probable that there are beds at a 
much greater depth. It is held as a rule here that the lustre 
of the pearl depends on the depth of the water — the greater 
the depth, the finer the lustre. There does not seem to be 
any known law governing the more or less sphericity of 
the pearl. 

The diving period is from the warm spring in April to 
the end of the hot summer months of August and Sep- 
tember. There are generally from 4000 to 5000 fishing 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries, 419 



boats along the entire coast, each boat containing from 
10, 20, to 32 men. Of the above number of boats about 
1 500 will belong to Bahrein. 

A large number of the boats employed in the Persian 
G^ulf fishery are in the hands of pearl merchants, whether 
Hindoo or other, who reside in the towns of the littoral, 
rhese agents make advances of moneys to the divers during 
:he non-diving season. As a rule, the diving may be in 
Abater of four to seven fathoms in depth. The crew is told 
)fif into divers and rope-holders, the former diving, while 
:he latter keep the boat and stand by to haul the diver up. 

The value of the Persian Gulf fishery has been usually 
estimated at ^^400,000 a-year. Lieutenant Whitelocke, 
Lieutenant Wellsted, and other well-informed authorities, 
^ive this amount, and Colonel Pelly confirms it recently ; 
'or he says the annual out-turn of this pearl fishery is 
issumed to be as follows : — The Bahrein pearl divers, 
^200,000 ; divers from the Arab littoral of the Persian Gulf, 
others than Bahrein, ;^200,ooo ; total, ;^400,ooo. The great 
Dulk of the best pearls is sent to the Bombay market, 
Adhere fancy prices are often given for good pearls. A large 
lumber of pearls is sent towards Bagdad. As a rule, 
;he Bombay market seeks the pearl of yellowish hue and 
Derfect sphericity ; while the Bagdad market prefers the 
A^hite pearl. The small seed-pearls go principally to Bag- 
dad also. The value of the pearls imported into Bagdad 
Vom Bahrein was, in 1865, about 30,000; in 1 866,;^ 2 5, 000 ; 
n 1 867, 1 8,000 ; but in the two following years the annual 
mports did not average 8,000. 

The next fishery of any importance is in Central 
America, on the Atlantic and Pacific sides ; but even here, 
Vom over-fishing, the pearls have become exhausted, the 
oysters not being allowed to reach maturity. 



420 The Co7n7ne7xial Pi'o ducts of the Sea. 



In the lower part of the Bay of Mulege, in the Gulf of 
California, near Los Coyetes, pearls have been found of rare 
value and astonishing brilliancy. It was in this bay that 
Jeremiah Evans, an Englishman, towards the close of the 
last century, obtained those magnificent pearls, of which 
the collar was made for the Queen of Spain, and which 
evoked so much admiration at St. Cloud and Windsor 
Castle. In the time of the Jesuit missionaries, the pearl 
fishery was actively carried on, and produced great wealth 
to the people of Lower California. 

A very choice large pearl, of a perfect pear shape, and 
of the finest water, was found a few years ago in the Bay 
of Panama. 

The average annual value of the pearls collected from 
the Panama fishery has been about 2 5,000. It is, how- 
ever, difficult to arrive with any degree of accuracy at the 
total value, as the trade is conducted wdth great secrecy, 
in consequence of jealousies, not only amongst the pearl- 
merchants, but even between the divers, who offer their 
property to the dealer with all mystery and every reserva- 
tion. From the official statement of exports, pearls to the 
value of ;^28,ioo were shipped from Panama in 1865, and 
^23,110 in 1867. In 1869 we imported pearls of the 
value of about 40,000 from New Granada, the Atlantic 
ports of America, and St. Thomas. The pearl fisheries 
on the Panama side, having been exhausted, are now sus- 
pended. 

It was from the island of Margarita, off the Colombian 
coast, that Philip II. of Spain obtained, in 1579, ^ mag- 
nificent pear-shaped pearl, weighing 250 carats, which was 
valued at 30,000. 

In the Gulf of Mexico, when Columbus first discovered 
some of the islands, he found Indians fishing for pearl 



Pearls and the Pea7d Fisheries. 421 

oysters. The necks of the females were adorned with 
strings of pearls, which they were induced to exchange for 
the more attractive novelties of fragments of porcelain ware 
painted and adorned Avith gaudy colours. The natives 
entertain the old fanciful notion which the earlier natu- 
ralists did : they suppose the pearls formed from petrified 
dewdrops in connection with sunbeams. We can, there- 
fore, well credit the astonishment of Columbus and his 
mariners when, in the Gulf of Paria, they first found oysters 
(Dendrostrea, Swai.) clinging to the branches of trees, their 
shells gaping open, ready, as was supposed, to receive the 
dew, which was afterwards to be transformed to pearls. 

The Hindoos poetically ascribe their production to drops 
of dew, which fall into the shells of the fish in which they 
are formed. A Brahmin told Mr. Le Beck that the mollusc 
rises to the surface of the sea in the month of May, to 
catch the drops in his shell, and that he thus received the 
germ of a pearl, which is then impregnated by the heat of 
the sun. 

Pliny had probably some version of this Indian idea, 
and, as usual, he improved the story by the addition of 
something of his own. He says : " The pearls vary accord- 
ing to quality of the dew of which they are formed ; if that 
be clear, they are also clear ; if turbid, they are turbid ; if 
the weather be cloudy when the precious drop is received 
into the shell, the pearl will be pale-coloured ; if the shell 
has received a good supply, the pearl will be large ; but 
lightning may cause it to close too suddenly, and then the 
pearl will be very small ; when it thunders during the 
reception of the drop, the pearl thence resulting will be a 
mere hollow shell of no consistency." 

In 1 87 1 the Government of Guayaquil granted per- 
mission to the owner of an American schooner to dive for 



42 2 The Com7ne7%ial Products of the Sea. 

pearls on that coast, on condition that one-fifth of the 
amount was to be deHvered to the Government. There 
seems to be an abundance of pearls of very good quality, 
and the owner of the schooner was quite content with the 
trial ; 35 ounces, valued at £20 an ounce, were shipped 
from there in 1871. 

Perforated pearls, destined to serve as beads, often form 
a part of the contents of ancient North American mounds. 
Squier and Davis found them on the hearths of five distinct 
groups of mounds in Ohio, and sometimes in such abun- 
dance that they could be gathered by the hundred. Most 
of them had greatly suffered by the action of fire, being in 
many cases so calcined that they crumbled when handled ; 
yet several hundreds were found sufficiently well preserved 
to permit of their being strung. The pearls in question 
are generally of irregular form, mostly pear-shaped, though 
perfectly round ones are also amongst them. The smaller 
specimens measure about one-fourth of an inch in diameter, 
but the largest has a diameter of no less than three-fourths 
of an inch. According to Squier and Davis, pearl-bearing 
shells occur in the rivers of the region whose antiquities 
they describe, but not in such abundance that they could 
have furnished the amount discovered in the tumuli ; and 
the pearls of the fluviatile shells, moreover, are said to 
be far inferior in size to those recovered from the altars. 
The latter, they think, were derived from the Atlantic coast 
and from that of the Mexican Gulf It is a fact that the 
Indians, who inhabited the present Southern States of the 
Union, made an extensive use of pearls for ornamental pur- 
poses. This is attested by the earliest accounts, and more 
especially by the chroniclers of De Soto's expedition (the 
anonymous Portuguese gentleman and Garcilasso de la 
Vega), who speak of almost fabulous quantities of pearls 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries, 423 

which that daring leader and his followers saw among the 
Indians of the parts traversed by them. Pearls, however, 
belonged to the things most desired by the Spaniards, and 
the accounts relating to them, perhaps, may be somewhat 
exaggerated. The following passage from Garcilasso de la 
Vega is of particular interest : — 

" While De Soto sojourned in the province of Ichiaha, 
the cacique visited him one day, and gave him a string of 
pearls about two fathoms {deux brasses) long. This present 
might have been considered a valuable one, if the pearls 
had not been pierced ; for they were all of equal size and 
as large as hazel nuts. Soto acknowledged this favour by 
presenting the Indian with some pieces of velvet and cloth, 
which were highly appreciated by the latter. He then 
asked him concerning the pearl fishing, upon which he 
replied that this was done in his province ; a great number 
of pearls were stored in the temple of the town of Ichiaha, 
where his ancestors were buried, and he might take as 
many of them as he pleased. The general expressed his 
obligation, but observed that he would take away nothing 
from the temple, and that he had accepted his present only 
to please him. He wished to learn, however, in what 
manner the pearls were extracted from the shells. The 
cacique replied that he would send people out to fish for 
pearls all night, and on the following day at eight o'clock 
{sic) his wish should be gratified. He ordered at once four 
boats to be despatched for pearl fishing, which should be 
back in the morning. In the mean time much wood was 
burned on the bank, producing a large quantity of glowing 
coals. When the boats had returned, the shells were placed 
on the hot coals, and they opened in consequence of the 
heat. In the very first, 10 or 12 pearls of the size of a pea 
were found, and handed to the cacique and the general, 



424 The Comme7'cial Products of the Sea. 

who were present. They thought them very fine, though 
the fire had partly deprived them of their lustre. When 
the general had satisfied his curiosity, he retired to take 
his dinner. While thus engaged, a soldier came in, who 
told him that, in eating some of the oysters caught by the 
Indians, a very fine and brilliant pearl had got between his 
teeth, and he begged him to accept it as a present for the 
Governess of Cuba. Soto very civilly refused the present, 
but assured the soldier that he was just as much obliged to 
him as though he had accepted his gift ; he would try to 
reward him one day for his kindness and for the regard for 
his wife. He advised him to keep his (intended) present, 
and to buy horses for it at Havana. The Spaniards who 
were with the general at that moment, examined the pearl 
of this soldier, and some who considered themselves as 
experts in the matter of jewellery, thought it was worth 
400 ducats. It had retained its original lustre, not having 
been extracted by means of fire." 

Pearls are obtained in some parts of the Eastern Archi- 
pelago. Those from the Sulu Islands are very fine. A 
companion of Magellan mentions having seen two pearls, 
in the possession of the Rajah of Borneo, as large as 
pullets' eggs. 

From the island of Labuan pearls are sometimes sent 
to Singapore to the value of about ^11,000 in a year. In 
1867, 1990 taels of pearls, worth ;^ 10,450, were exported, 
as against 3853 taels in 1868, worth 1,554. In 1869 the 
shipments were only to the value of ;^2 329 ; and in 1870, 
to ;^5686. 

About the Society Islands, where the pearl fishery is 
carried on, pearls are most frequently found in oysters of 
medium size, and frequently very fine ones are obtained. 
M. Cuzent, in his account of Tahiti, published in i860, 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries. 



425 



states that during his residence there, for one owned by the 
queen a German merchant had offered ^1200. Pearls to 
the value of £\6oo were shipped from the Navigator's 
Islands in 1858. The pearls are there classed under four 
grades : — 

1. Those of a regular form and w^ithout faults, 

2. Those of a round form, white, and of a good lustre. 

3. Pearls of irregular form, not free from faults or 
spots. 

4. Knots of pearl, or those which have adhered to the 
shell. 

The average value of these kinds, according to weight, 
ranges as follows : — 

I St Class. — Pearls weighing the tenth part of a gramme 
are worth about 3^-. And so on through the intermediate 
weights up to those weighing to 2\ grammes, which are 
valued 2X £iQO to £iA,o. 

2nd Class. — Thirty grammes of pearl, containing 800 
pearls, would be worth only ^4 ; whilst the same weight 
in 50 pearls would be worth £60. 

3rd Class. — Thirty grammes of pearls of this kind 
would be worth from £}^ to £/\., according as the pearls 
were more or less tarnished by black blemishes or dulness 
in the lustre. 

4th Class. — Thirty grammes would be worth 30^*. to £2, 
according to their regularity of form and brilliancy. 

The commerce in pearls in the Society Islands is esti- 
mated at about £\ooo a year. Some are of remarkable 
beauty ; and among others may be noted one belonging to 
the Queen of the Gambiers, which is of a brilliant orient, 
and of the size of a pigeon's egg. The large pearls found 
are, of course, of an arbitrary value ; the small, or seed- 
pearls, are sold at £2 to ^3 the pound at Tahiti. 



426 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

In the Gambier Islands magnificent pearls are found, 
and also at the Paomotu Isles. 

Of all the substances employed in jewellery, the pearl 
is the one whose value it is the most difficult to establish, 
because it depends upon so many variable conditions of 
size, form, and colour. A pearl of the first quality should 
possess, above all things, a fine orient," or water. By this 
expression is meant a pure whiteness, joined to a lovely lustre 
that sparkles in the light. There are pearls, too, which, 
with a white colour, show a delicate reflection of azure. 
These are the most highly esteemed. The second quality 
of a fine pearl is that it should be perfectly spherical, or 
regularly pear-shaped. There are a great number of pearls 
whose colour has a yellowish tinge. This alone is a mark 
of inferior quality. The following table was made by a 
celebrated West End jeweller to compare the price of 
pearls of the first choice in 1865 and 1867 : — 











s. 


d. 




s. 




pearl of 3 


grains 


0 


17 


0 


to 0 


19 


0 




4 




I 


6 


0 


1 1 I 


12 


0 




5 


> J 




7 


0 


2 


7 


0 


>> 


6 


>5 


3 


5 


0 


3 


15 


0 




8 


5 > 


4 


12 


0 


5 


14 


0 


> J 


10 


5 5 


10 


2 


0 


II 


2 


0 


J5 


12 


> J 


14 


2 


0 


„ 16 




0 


5 1 


14 




18 


2 


0 


20 


3 


0 




16 


>> 


20 


3 


0 


„ 30 


5 


0 




18 


5 J 


30 


5 


0 


„ 40 


4 


0 




20 


>> 


40 


4 


0 


11 50 


8 


0 


) J 


24 


J J 


60 


10 


0 


„ 72 


12 


0 


>> 


30 


11 


85 


13 


0 


11 100 


17 


0 



Besides the individual value which pearls possess in 
common with all other precious stones, and which is ex- 
pressed in the preceding table, they have another very 
important one, which we may call associative value. Thus 
it happens that two pearls of the same form, the same size, 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries. 427 

the same colour, etc., are worth a much higher price if sold 
together than when sold apart. A necklace in which the 
pearls have been chosen from a great number will be held 
at double the value of a necklace where the pearls have 
been picked from a smaller number, even when the indi- 
vidual value of the pearls is identical in both. In the first 
place the harmony will be complete, while in the second 
case the eye will detect a break in the shades in passing 
from one pearl to another. 

Some mother-of-pearl shells are fished in Torres Straits. 
It seems that women are there the best divers for the shell. 
They are more dependable. The pearl-shell oyster is a 
magnificent mollusc ; weighing three to six pounds, and 
sometimes ten pounds. Divers come up with one under 
each arm. They are opened at once, the fish used as food, 
and the pearls, which are few and small, carefully pre- 
served. The shells sell at Sydney for ^150 to £i'^o per 
ton, and a schooner will carry 30 to 40 tons. 

The pearl fisheries of Western Australia seem to become 
more productive yearly ; the value of shells exported in 
1872 was ^25,890, against ^12,895 worth exported in the 
previous year, and the estimated value of pearl shells sent 
from the colony in 1873, representing the take of the 
season 1872-73, was about ^50,000. The value of the pearl 
shell exported in 1874 was 58,928, and of pearls 6000, 
which is probably much below the mark. The natives are 
employed as divers, and work for a mere subsistence ; but, 
owing to the stringent laws existing for the protection of 
the aborigines, most of the pearling craft — in fact, all who 
can — employ Malays, whom they bring, under agreement 
for a term of years, from the Coromandel coast and Java. 
These men are paid at a rate varying from to £2 
per month, and are kept free of charge. A diver will 



428 The Commercial Proditcts of the Sea. 

frequently bring up about 30 lbs. weight of shells after one 
dive. The value of the shells in the colony averages from 
£7 to ;£"8 per cwt. These shells, the home of the Melca- 
grina margaritifera, weigh on the average about two 
pounds per pair, and measure from six to ten inches in 
diameter. It is to their intrinsic commercial value, rather 
than to the pearls they contain, that the north-west fisheries 
owe their importance. 

Another lucrative fishery exists in Shark's Bay, a large 
inlet, extending in a south-easterly direction from Dirk 
Hartog's Island, about the twenty-fifth degree of south 
latitude, to a distance of 150 miles. The shells found in 
this region are those of the true pearl oyster, the Aviciila 
viaigaritifera, an oyster only slightly larger than its Euro- 
pean congener, and valuable for the pearls it bears. The 
shells themselves have no commercial value. 

A large pearl was found a year or two ago on the north- 
west coast. It is pear-shaped, weighs 1 59 grains, is of a very 
fine texture, and has an excellent lustre. Its size is about 
equal to that of a common acorn, though it is of course 
different in shape. There are one or two specks on the 
smaller end, which is also scarcely perfect in its outline, 
but the thick end is superb, and is not marred by the 
slightest defect. No fair estimate of its value could be 
made locally, as there is no Australian market for such 
gems. The pearl was found by a pearling expedition fitted 
out from the port of Melbourne. 

The subject of marine pearls can scarcely be dealt with 
without a brief allusion to the river pearls which are 
obtained from the AIa?nodon, Anodonta, Unios, and other 
shells, in different countries. 

Many of the fresh-water mussels produce pearls in the 
mountain-streams of Britain, Lapland, and Canada ; but 



Pearls and the Peaid Fisheries. 429 

they are generally inferior in lustre and value to the 
marine pearls. Some worth to ^4 each have, however, 
been frequently obtained, and specimens of great individual 
value have ranged from ^^50 up to ;^ioo. It has long been 
known to naturalists and antiquaries that pearls of great 
beauty and size have been found from time to time in the 
Scotch streams. 

Tytler, in his " History of Scotland," states that, so 
early as the twelfth century, there was a demand for Scotch 
pearls abroad. Those in the possession of Alexander I., 
he says, were celebrated for their size and beauty. In 
1355 Scotch pearls are referred to in a statute of the 
Parisian goldsmiths, by which it was enacted that no 
worker in gold or silver should set them with oriental 
pearls, except in large ornaments or jewels for churches. 
They are noticed again in the reign of Charles L, when the 
Scotch pearl trade was considered of sufficient importance 
to be worthy of the attention of Parliament. The following 
extract from " An Accompt Current betwixt Scotland and 
England," by John Spruel, Edinburgh, 1705, shows that 
they were then well known : — " If a Scotch pearl be of a 
fine transparent colour and perfectly round, and of any 
great bigness, it may be worth 15, 20, 30, 40, to 50 rix- 
dollars ; yea, I have given 100 rix-dollars {£\6 gs. 2d.) for 
one, but that is rarely to get such. ... I have dealt in 
pearls these 40 years and more, and yet, to this day, I 
could never sell a necklace of fine Scots pearl in Scotland, 
nor yet fine pendants, the generality seeking for oriental 
pearls, because farther fetched. At this very day I can 
show some of our own Scots pearl as fine, more hard and 
transparent, than any oriental. It is true that the oriental 
can be easier matched, because they are all of a yellow 
water,, yet foreigners covet Scots pearl." 



430 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



These British pearls were well known to the Romans, 
who, nevertheless, complained that they were small and 
ill-coloured. History has preserved the tradition that it 
was this source of wealth that tempted the Romans to our 
shores, and more than one ancient writer refers to the 
shield, studded with British pearls, which Csesar suspended 
as an offering in the temple of Venus, at Rome. Tacitus 
mentions pearls among the products of our island, but adds 
that they were generally of a dusky, livid hue. This, he 
suggests, was owing to the carelessness and inexperience of 
the persons who collected them, who did not pluck the 
shell-fish alive from the rocks, but were content to gather 
what the waves cast on the beach. Pliny and others also 
describe them as inferior, on account of their dulness and 
cloudiness, to the jewels of the East. Coming down to 
times less remote, we find Hector Boece, in the sixteenth 
century, expatiating upon the pearls of Caledonia with much 
enthusiasm. They were, he says, very valuable, " bright, 
light, and round, and sometimes of the quantity of the nail 
of one's little finger." 

It seems known that Sir Richard Wynn, chamberlain 
to the queen of Charles H., presented her Majesty with a 
pearl taken from the river Conway, which, it is affirmed, 
is still honoured with a place in the regal crown. In the 
sixteenth century, several of great size were fished from 
the Irish rivers. One that weighed 36 carats was valued at 
£40, and other single pearls were sold at from £4 los. up 
to £10. This last was disposed of a second time to Lady 
Glenlealy, who put it into a necklace and refused ^80 for 
it from the Duchess of Ormond (" Philos. Trans. Abr.," 

p. 83). 

Oliver Goldsmith, in his " Natural History," refers to a 
pearl fishery rented on the Tay ; and Hugh Miller has 



Pearls and the Pearl Fishe7des. 431 



spoken of rivers in the north famous for their pearls. As a 
branch of industry, however, the Scotch pearl fishery seems 
to have been well-nigh forgotten, when, in i860, M. Moritz 
Unger, a foreigner then in Edinburgh, conceived the idea 
of making a tour through the districts where the pearl 
mussel was known to abound. He discovered that pearl 
fishing was not altogether forgotten, and found pearls in 
various parts of the country, in the hands of people who 
did not estimate their value. He purchased all he could 
procure. The consequence was that, in the following year, 
many persons — colliers, masons, labourers, and others — 
began to devote their leisure to pearl fishing, and some of 
them were so successful as, during the summer months, to 
make as much as ^8 to 10 weekly. Between the years 
1 76 1 and 1764, 1 0,000 worth of pearls were sent to 
London from the rivers Tay and Isla, but the trade carried 
on in the corresponding years of this century was far more 
than double that amount M. Unger estimated the pearls 
found in 1865 to be of the value of about 12,000. In the 
summer of 1862, which was dry and favourable to fishing 
operations, more pearls were produced than during any 
previous year in Scotland, and at that time the average 
price of a Scotch pearl Was £2 6s. to 50^. ; ^5 was con- 
sidered a high price. Since the fisheries were revived, their 
price has rapidly risen, and they now fetch prices ranging 
from ^5 to ;^20. One Scotch pearl was bought by Her 
Majesty for 40 guineas. The Duchess of Hamilton and 
the Empress of the French also purchased fine specimens 
at high prices, and M. Unger had in his possession a neck- 
lace of Scotch pearls, which he valued at ;^350. 

A good pearl should be either globular or pear-shaped ; 
according to Jeffries, a celebrated jeweller, " their com- 
plexion must be milk-white, not of a dead and lifeless, but 



432 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

of a clear and lively hue, free from stains, fouls, spots, 
specks, or roughness." He condemns all coloured pearls, 
although the Hindoos prefer a yellow tinge, and some 
nations admire the red. He values them according to their 
weight, in the following manner : — A pearl of one carat 
(three grains and one-fifth) is valued at ^s. ; one of two 
carats at four times that amount ; one of three carats at 
nine times, and so on in a square proportion, multiplying 
the number of carats by itself and the product by ^s. 
But the price set upon some pearls of ancient days exceeds 
this estimate enormously; and even now a pearl of very 
extraordinary beauty would most probably receive a 
valuation upon other grounds than its weight. 

The enormous value attached in ancient times to some 
extraordinary pearls seems to be almost fabulous. Much of 
this must, of course, be attributed to the caprice which will 
pay any price, however excessive, for whatever is unique of 
its kind, the possession of which may be an object of com- 
petition ; and the manufacture of artificial pearls had not 
then lowered the price of the real jewel. But though no 
longer so extravagantly valued, the pearl must always be a 
favourite ; its delicate and silvery lustre, in the words of an 
admirer, " relieves the eye of gazing at the brilliancy of the 
diamond, as the soft brightness of the moon after the 
dazzling fire of the sun." 

There were the often-mentioned pearls of Cleopatra, one 
of which that celebrated queen drank dissolved in vinegar 
before Marc Antony, while the other, saved from a similar 
fate, was slit into halves to form earrings for the statue 
of Venus in the Pantheon. Julius Caesar presented to 
Servilia a pearl valued at 6,000,000 sesterces, or nearly 
^50,000. Clodius, the glutton, swallowed one worth 
^8000. 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries, 433 



The example of Cleopatra found an imitator even in 
sober England. Sir Thomas Gresham, not otherwise 
famous for acts of folly, still so mistook the meaning of 
loyalty that he ground a pearl, which had cost him £ 1 5,000, 
into a cup of wine in order thus fitly to drink the health of 
his great queen ! 

The pearl belonging to the Shah of Persia, seen by 
Tavernius in 1633, was valued at 32,000 tomans, equal at 
that time to double the number of pounds sterling. It 
is said to have been obtained at Catifa, in Arabia, where 
a pearl fishery existed in the time of Pliny. It was pear- 
shaped, perfect in all respects, and nearly three inches 
long. This pearl is believed to be the one which was in 
possession of the late King of Persia, Fateh Ali Shah. 

A pearl presented by the republic of Venice to Soliman, 
the Emperor of the Turks, was valued at ;^ 16,000. The large 
pearl in the crown of the Emperor Rudolph II. weighed 30 
carats, and was the size of a pear. (J) Pope Leo X. bought 
a pearl of a Venetian jeweller for the sum of ^14,000. A 
lady in Madrid, in the year 1605, wore an American pearl 
which cost 31,000 ducats. 

A large Java pearl, curiously set, was shown at Madrid 
a few years ago. It was made to represent a siren, or 
mermaid, dressing her hair ; her body was formed of the 
pearl, which was of a long oval form, and beautifully pure 
white ; the head and arms were of white enamel, and the 
lower extremity, forming the fish, of green enamel. The 
whole was finely carved, and on the girdle were the 
following words : " Fallunt aspectus cantusque syrenis." 

The niost beautiful pearl known is in the Museum of 
Zosima, in Moscow. It weighs very nearly 28 carats. It is 
perfectly globular, and so beautifully brilliant that at first 
sight it appears transparent. It was bought by Zosima at 

2 F 



434 ^^^^ Comme^xial Pi^odttcts of the Sea. 

Leghorn, of a captain of an East India ship. This splendid 
pearl, which has been named the Pellegrina, is one of the 
objects of a visit to Moscow. 

In the French crown jewels there are some very fine 
pearls. Among others, a collection of 408 pearls, each 
weighing 16 grammes, of a perfect white, round, and of a 
magnificent orient. They are valued at 20,000. Also a 
pearl as large as a pigeon's egg, of a very beautiful quality, 
valued at ^1600, and others of less value. 

" As this admiration for fine pearls has been the common 
weakness of man in all ages and in all countries, we need 
not wonder at their playing a prominent part in religious 
writings. The Talmud has a pretty story, teaching us that 
those who believe in it esteemed but one object in nature 
of higher value than pearls. When Abraham approached 
Egypt, the book tells us, he locked Sara in a chest that 
none might behold her dangerous beauty. But when he 
was come to the place of paying custom, the officer said, 

* Pay custom.' And he said, * I will pay the custom.' 
They said to him, ^ Thou earnest clothes.' And he said, 

* I will pay for clothes. Then they said to him, ' Thou 
earnest gold.' And he answered them, ' I will pay for 
gold.' On this they further said, ' Surely, thou bearest 
the fine silk.' He replied, ' I will pay custom for the 
finest silk.' Then they said, ' Surely, it must be pearls 
that thou takest with thee.' And he only answered, * I will 
pay for pearls." Seeing that they could name nothing of 
value for which the patriarch was not willing to pay 
custom, they said, " It cannot be but thou open the box 
and let us see what is within." So they opened the box, 
and the whole land of Egypt was illumined by the lustre of 
Sara's beauty — far exceeding even that of pearls. 

"Hence pearls are repeatedly used in Holy Writ also for 



Pearls and the Pearl Fisheries, 435 

the most solemn comparisons, and to denote the highest 
degree of perfection. In the Old Testament wisdom is 
praised as above pearls ; and in the New Testament the 
kingdom of heaven is compared to a pearl of great price, 
which, when a merchant had found it, he went and sold all 
that he had, and bought it. Even the New Jerusalem was 
revealed to St. John under the figure of an edifice with 
twelve doors, each of which was a single pearl." * 

* *' Putnam's Magazine." 



43 6 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CORAL AND THE CORAL FISHERIES. 

Scientific description of coral — Varieties of — Commercial classifications of coral 
— Statistics of trade in France and England — Seats of manufacture in 
Italy — Various coral fisheries in the Mediterranean — Statistics of boats 
employed — British imports of coral — Indian trade in coral. 

Science and commerce frequently work hand in hand, and 
materially aid each other ; but in some instances commerce 
has been in advance of science, and this may be said of 
the search for coral and its application for ornament, which 
have been prosecuted for ages by the uninformed, whilst 
learned naturalists have been debating many moot points 
as to the growth, formation, and special localities of the 
coral varieties. 

Our scientific men are busy dredging and exploring the 
great depths of the ocean, but they have as yet thrown 
little light on those questions which are of paramount 
importance to the fishers for and workers in coral — as, for 
instance, why the important banks of good coral are limited 
to the Mediterranean Sea, and what are the requirements of 
these polypes for the aggregation and formation of this now 
much sought for article of commerce. As I remarked in a 
lecture delivered before the Society of Arts a few years 
ago, we are still ignorant on many points of the highest 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries, 437 

importance relating to the production and collection of this 
handsome substance. The little that we do know, however, 
leads to the belief that the growth of coral is rapid ; that 

Fig. 30. 




Corallium nobilisy or red coral ; with a piece magnified, showing the polypes. 



43 8 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

its development is simple, and accommodates itself to very 
varied circumstances ; that detached fragments from the 
bunch or principal stem have a vitality, and will volun- 
tarily attach themselves to certain fixed substances, for 
continuing their development and forming new trunks ; in 
fact, objects thrown into the sea in the vicinity of coral 
banks will infallibly be found covered with coral in a few 
months. But what is most valuable to be known in regu- 
lating the search for coral, and for rendering the return 
more productive and more certain, is to ascertain at what 
age coral attains its largest size ; how long it takes for an 
exhausted coral bank to again become rich and flourishing; 
at what period the eggs are laid ; how are the products 
disseminated ; at what period does the budding take place, 
and how long does it last ? These are most important 
questions, on the solving of which rests the complete 
regeneration and progressive increase of the coral fishery, 
and they are questions as yet unsolved by naturalists. 

Professor Lacaze-Duthiers, who was charged with a 
mission to the coast of Algeria to report upon this zoophyte, 
has given us the results of his investigation and curious 
experience : — 

" To describe correctly," he says, " a branch of coral, 
we must bear in mind the peculiar property of germination 
which belongs to the immense class of zoophytes, and we 
can then consider it as a colony of individuals derived 
from one zoophyte, itself originating from an ovum or 
egg- 

" The stem of the coral is divisible into two constant 
and distinct parts : a central axis, hard and brittle, like 
stone, which is the part used in commerce, and a soft cover- 
ing or epidermis, which easily yields to the nail when it is 
fresh, but is friable or brittle when dry. 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries, 439 



"This epidermis appears indented by small cavities 
upon its surface, and we can often perceive radiated pores 
corresponding to these cavities. In observing the live coral, 
we see that out of these holes protrude the little flowers 
that the naturalists Maligny and Peissonnel recognized 
as the animals, and which they compared to small sea- 
nettles. 

"Nothing can equal the delicacy and graceful disposition 
of these little milk-white rosettes, which contrast admirably 
with the brilliant red of the coral. 

" Their arms, which surround their mouths, are ciliated, 
or covered with fine fringes, which, ever moving and 
agitating the water, create a circular current that carries 
to the centre, and consequently into their mouths, the 
minute matters that sustain them. 

" The epidermis is composed of a very delicate white 
tissue, and presents through its whole thickness the long 
cavities of the polypes. It is traversed by canals, which 
are very numerous, and establish a solidity between all 
parts, sprinkled with small calcareous corpuscles, hard, 
resisting, and all armed with unassailable bundles of points, 
having a special form. 

" The structure of the animals is otherwise very simple ; 
they present the appearance of a pocket or of an open 
purse. The mouth is surrounded with arms, and conducts 
to the central or penetrating cavity the food, and there we 
find eight lamillae radiating towards the centre." 

There are various kinds of coral, so-called, to be met 
with in the shops of shell-dealers and naturalists sold 
under the name of fan coral, brush coral, brainstones, etc., 
which serve for ornamenting chimney-pieces, cabinets, 
museums, drawing-room tables, aquaria, etc. Such, for 
instance, as the white coral, formerly called Madrepora 



440 The Commercial Products of the Sea, 



virginea, and now named Oculina virginea, the brainstone 
coral {Mendriiia cej^ebrifonnis) ,thQ black coral {G . Antipathes) , 
and the organ-pipe coral {Tubipora micsica), which takes its 
name from the regular arrangement of its cylindrical dark 
crimson tubes side by side. Being much cheaper than the 
ordinary solid red coral, this last kind is frequently used 
as a representative of coral in cabinets of economic 
products. 

But it is with jeweller's coral that we have to deal, 
which is alone used for articles of personal decoration and 
works of art. Occasionally the red coral is found white, 

Fig. 31. 




Varieties of coral. 



or without any colouring matter ; the tips are bored, and 
the pieces are threaded into negligees, or they are cut into 
links for forming chains. At the Naples Maritime Inter- 
national Exhibition a magnificent branch of black coral 
from Trapani was shown, which formed a finish to the 
trophy of aboriginal arms and weapons exhibited from the 
Pacific. At Jedda there is a black coral fishery which 
extends fifty miles north and south. From taking a fine 
polish, the black is fashioned into beads and mouth-pieces 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries. 441 

for cigars. The dull white is not quite so hard, and from 
not polishing well is sold cheaper. It is often deteriorated 
by being worm-eaten. 

Coral is, after pearls, the handsomest and most valuable 
production obtained from the sea. Naturalists range it, in 
the animal kingdom, at the head of zoophytes or animal- 
plants. It presents to the fisherman the appearance of a 
branching shrub without leaves, of a red or rose colour, 
compact and solid. Coral has the hardness and brilliancy 
of agate ; it polishes like gems and shines like garnet, with 
the tints of the ruby. The larger branches are used for 
carving, and as the material is durable, well suited to give 
definite outlines to the sculptor's work, great labour and 
ingenuity are frequently expended on objects of art wrought 
in this material. The Chinese, Hindoos, and Singalese 
have all tried their skill in carving coral, but the finest and 
most artistic work emanates from the Italian workshops of 
Naples, Genoa, and Leghorn. 

Large, perfect, well-shaped beads are by far the most 
valuable form of coral, and these have greatly increased 
in estimation of late years. Many of the finest are sent to 
China, where they are in demand for the mandarin's red 
button of rank worn on the cap. Some of the natives of 
India have a preference for what may be called worm- 
eaten beads, and tons of these, which would not find 
favour in Europe, go to the East, where they are esteemed 
from a superstitious belief that gods dwell in the little 
recesses or cavities of this coral. 

The Chinese, who are most patient and skilful in all 
their work, used to prepare strings of small rows of seed- 
coral beads for embroidery, the boring of which was most 
minute. The practice or art would seem to have become 
obsolete, for I have only met with strings of them in the 



442 The Commercial Prodttds of the Sea. 

collection of Messrs. Phillips, Cockspur Street, London, 
where they are shown as a great curiosity. 

A large part of the coral is wasted in the process of 
grinding and filing to convert it into uniform well-shaped 
beads, and this, of course, adds greatly to the cost. It is 
not every one who can obtain and possess such a magnifi- 
cent row of coral beads as the well-known necklace be- 
longing to Mrs. Edward Baring. 

Much of the manufacturing process — grinding, drilling, 
and polishing the coral — is carried on by women. The 
working of beads consists of three different operations — 
cutting, piercing, and rounding — and is principally executed 
by the females of the Val du Bisagno, in Italy. The manner 
in which it is distributed among the different communes 
affords a striking example of the principle of subdivision of 
labour. 

All the operatives employed in cutting belong to about 
100 families in the commune of Assio ; those in piercing 
and rounding to about 60 families living in other parts of 
the valley. Every village works exclusively at beads of a 
fixed size. In Genoa each manufacturer employs from 10 
to 20 or more women, who submit the coral to a preparatory 
process before it is given to the workers of Bisagno. Thirty 
or 40 men and women are employed in their own homes 
in cutting coral into facets. There are also about 30 en- 
gravers of coral and cameos. In all from 5000 to 6000 
persons gain their livelihood in the province of Genoa 
either by fishing for, working on, or selling coral, and this 
craft produces a revenue of ^80,000. Exports of coral 
are made from Genoa to Austria, Hungary, Poland, 
England, Aleppo, Madras, and Calcutta. 

Those who are connoisseurs of coral know that of late 
years it has risen considerably in the estimation of the fair 



Coral and the Coral Fishe^des. 443 

sex. A somewhat arbitrary standard of beauty has, how- 
ever, been established in regard to the colour. We must 
no more think of a choice piece of coral when we talk of 
"coral lips," than we must of a bigarreati when we speak 
of " cherry lips." Coral, to be rare and valuable, must be 
of a delicate pinkish, flesh-like hue, uniform in tint through- 
out, and in large pieces. 

The principal commercial varieties distinguished are 
red, subdivided into deep crimson red, pale red, and 
vermilion, which is rare ; black, clear white, and dull white, 
which is the most common. The delicate rose or flesh- 
coloured, which is the most prized, is sold at very high 
prices, as it is entirely a fancy article. 

Red coral is classified by some dealers into twelve 
shades of colour, besides the white and pink coral. 

In some countries red coral is classified into the fol- 
lowing five commercial grades : — i, froth of blood ; 2, 
flower of blood ; 3, 4, 5, blood of first, second, and third 
qualities. 

Madrepore and other shov/y corals are used for orna- 
mental purposes. The horny axis of black flexible coral 
{Plesaiira crassd) is used for canes and whips in the Ber- 
mudas, and the axis of fan coral {Rkipidogorgia) for 
skimmers in the same islands. Coral is used for building 
purposes in the Pacific islands, Mauritius, the Seychelles, 
and other places. Coral rock of recent formation {Coqinnci) 
is employed in Florida in the manufacture of ornamental 
vases and earrings. Calcined coral is used for dentrifices, 
as an antacid, etc. Lime is also made by calcining coral 
and coral rock. 

The dealers and workers in coral recognize rough tips 
and polished tips, fragments, roots of branches, suitable 
for making earrings, and coral tulips for shaping into 



444 Commercial Products of the Sea, 

ornaments. The branches of coral assume the espalier shape 
and other forms. Negligee, collette, and olive-shaped beads 
are made. 

Coral is valued according to its bulk, colour, sound- 
ness and freedom from defects. Certain rare kinds, of 
pale tints, are worth 20 times their weight in pure gold. 

The ornamental applications of coral are very varied, — 
negligees, beads {btihls and boiitons), bracelets, brooches, 
ear-drops, tiaras, combs, hair-pins, chains, crosses, links ; 
studs, and scarf-pins for gentlemen, settings for rings, 
charms, pendants, parasol garnitures, cameos, and foliage ; 
coral and bells for children ; and watch-cases are some- 
times inlaid with pale rose-colour coral. 

The Romans used to hang beads of red coral on the 
cradles and round the necks of infants, to ''preserve and 
fasten their teeth," and save them from the "falling 
sickness." In modern days they are used to prevent the 
skin of the neck from chafing, and the child's coral and 
bells is not yet obsolete. 

The general use of coral dates back to the fifteenth 
century, under Francis I. Naples, Genoa, and Leghorn 
have been from old times the three great centres to which 
the rav/ material has been carried, and where skilful arti- 
ficers have established themselves in order to work at its 
transformation into ornaments. In the four principal manu- 
factories, and at several second-rate establishments for 
working on coral in Leghorn, there are more than looo 
women employed preparing about 50,000 lbs. weight of 
coral into little beads, round, egg-shaped, smooth and cut 
into facets, etc. The greater part is sent to India ; a 
large portion is exported to Germany, especially for 
necklaces of an inferior quality destined to serve as funeral 
ornaments, and some to Russia, where coral is in great 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries. 



445 



demand. France does not use much coral for ornaments, 
but the fashion there is reviving. 

The average annual imports of rough coral into France 
have been as follows : — 

Kilogrammes. Value in francs. 
In the ten years ending 1856 ... 10,450 ... 253,804 
„ 1866 ... 19,960 ... 1,418,976 

„ „ 1876 ... 21,596 ... 1,890,356 

The imports of worked coral, unmounted, in the same 
period was as follows : — 

Kilogrammes. Value in francs. 

1856 6,600 1,125,805 

1866 11,831 3,060,010 

1876 14,553 5^078,062 

In America and the West Indies the black population 
have a great fancy for coral. Morocco buys largely, and 
so does India. The caravans transport bijous and jewels 
fashioned of it to the interior. There, according to 
religious custom, the dead carry with them to the tomb 
the ornaments they have worn in their lifetime, and each 
year sees buried a quantity of coral, more or less consider- 
able, which has to be replaced. Coral manufactories em- 
ploying a large number of workmen exist at Marseilles. 
The exports of manufactured coral from Europe were stated 
in 1862 to be of the value of 15,000,000 francs (;£"6oo,ooo), 
of which Marseilles made about 2,000,000 francs. 

As few persons have access to the bulky returns con- 
stituting the Blue Books of the Board of Trade, which 
give the statistics of the annual imports of various articles 
into the United Kingdom, it may be desirable to condense 
the figures as regards coral, so as to furnish a retrospect 
of the commerce in this marine product. The three items 
enumerated in the returns are " Coral in fragments," " Coral, 
whole, polished or unpolished," and " Coral negligees'' 



44^ The Comme7'cial Products of the Sea. 

Coral beads are also imported done up into strings of 
assorted sizes, making five necklaces, also in large bundles 
of 36 strings assorted, weighing 135 ounces troy. A most 
objectionable procedure in the coral trade is the practice 
of attaching to the beads great masses of raw silk and 
cotton at the ends, amounting to fully 30 per cent, of the 
weight, and as coral is sold by the ounce, this is an absolute 
fraud on the buyer. The official statements of the imports 
of coral into the kingdom are no reliable criterion of the 
actual value of the trade, because it is chiefly the 
coarse and rough coral that is entered at the Custom 
House ; merchants, jewellers, and, indeed, private indi- 
viduals, who purchase in the Mediterranean the finer kinds 
of coral, and jewellery made of it, do not trust it in cases 
as merchandise, but bring it in their personal baggage. 
The aggregate net value of all the coral imported, ac- 
cording to the Customs returns, never reaches ^50,000 in 
the year, and, indeed, in the last years of which we have 
any official record it was under ;^ 18,000 or ;;{^20,ooo ; but 
this is a very fallacious statement, for probably the value 
of the coral exceeds ^100,000 a year. Taking, however, 
only the computed official value of that entered at the 
Customs, there was received in England, between i860 
and 1870, coral of different kinds valued at upwards of 
;f300,ooo. 

In weight the quantity of the several kinds imported 
varies considerably. Thus, of coral in fragments, some- 
times, as in 1856 and 1861, 14,000 to 16,000 lbs. weight 
are received, — in ordinary years the average is not half 
that amount. Of whole, or perfect pieces, the quantity 
ranges from 400 to 1000 lbs. Of negligees, the quantity 
has declined considerably. In 1859 about 3000 lbs. weight 
came in, but the last few years it has only averaged 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries. 447 



500 to 600 lbs. In beads there is the same fluctation in 
the quantity. Some years from 3000 to 4000 lbs. come in ; 
of late years there is only an average of 1000 lbs. These 
figures represent merely the merchant's coral for re-export, 
and furnish no estimate whatever of the choice coral of 
fashion, which depends for its value entirely on the gold- 
smith's and jeweller's art in arranging and setting, variety, 
form and style, and represents a value far surpassing all 
that has been quoted. It comprises articles of beauty 
and imagination which defy any detailed description, and 
which even illustration could not do justice to. 

Coral beads were always favourite ornaments in this 
country. In the inventory of one John Post (who died in 
1524), "late y^ king's servant," in the churchwarden's 
accompts of St. Mary-at-Hill, London, we find the following 
items : " ij oz. of corall, 2s. 6d. ; jewels for her body, a 
pair of corall bedes, gaudyed with gaudes of silver and 
gilt, 10 oz. at 3^-. 4<^., £1 I3i". 4^." — a goodly price in those 
days. 

Various handsome pantres of coral have been shown 
from time to time at the difi"erent International Exhibi- 
tions. Some very fine specimens of red coral in the 
natural state were exhibited in the Algerian Court at the 
London Exhibition in 1862. The Ionian Islands also 
exhibited some small specimens of coral from Ithaca. 
From New Caledonia a substance having some resem- 
blance to coral was also shown under the name of "rose 
coral." 

A set of pink coral shown at the Dublin Exhibition 
in 1865, consisting of a tiara, bracelets, solitaires, comb, 
earrings, brooch, necklace, and pendant, was valued at 
;^iooo, though the value was represented almost alone by 
the coral. Signor Gismondi, the designer and carver of 



448 T/te Commercial Products of the Sea, 

the set of ornaments had, it was stated, been 20 years 
collecting the pieces inserted therein. Of the carving of 
the coral into flowers and foliage, it need only be said that 
it was as delicate as it was bold and deep, and sustained 
the reputation of the Italians for skill in glyptics. 

Guiseppe Martucci, of Naples, also showed at the 
Dublin International Exhibition in 1865 an arabesque 
coral handle for a parasol, eight inches long, carved in 
relief out of a single piece, with fruit, animals, leaves, etc., 
valued at £"J2. 

The International Maritime Exhibition held in 1871 
at Naples, the head-quarters of the coral dredging and 
working operations, afforded an admirable opportunity for 
displaying some of the finest specimens of natural and 
artistic productions. On that occasion the leading coral 
workers and jewellers sent magnificent examples. Mr. 
Phillips, being a commissioner, was placed hors concours. 
Casalta and Morabito exhibited coral sets valued at from 
9000 to 16,000 Italian lire or francs ; but their best work was 
a walking-stick, with a carved handle of coral weighing 100 
grammes, and a fine string of pale white coral. Some of 
the carving and workmanship shown by Michele Piscione 
and others were very fine. Ascioni Brothers had a magni- 
ficent collection of works in pink and white coral, and 
especially the carved hilt of a dagger. 

At the Paris Exhibition of 1878, in the Italian section, 
magnificent carvings in pink coral were shown by Luigi 
Casalta, Giacinto Melillo, Nicolo Piscione, Guiseppe 
Giojuzzi, and Rocco Morabito, of Naples. 

The value of ordinary red coral fluctuates much at the 
seat of the fisheries. In 1867 it was only worth 30^-. the 
pound, and occasionally it is worth £2 the pound. The 
variation in price arises in some degree from the different 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries. 449 



qualities of the coral, but also from special circumstances 
which the markets of distant countries cause, the sale of 
coral being much smaller in Europe than elsewhere. The 
fishermen, however, have attained to a degree of shrewd- 
ness and overreaching which is very remarkable. If, for 
instance, they are successful in finding a fine branch of the 
coveted pale rose coral, they will not dispose of it alone, 
but make it the medium for getting rid of their whole 
stock, covenanting that the purchaser shall take the entire 
lot for some fixed sum. The purchase of coral by the 
dealer becomes, therefore, quite a lottery ; for until the 
bark, as it is technically termed, is removed, he knows not 
what is the condition of the coral. Much of it may be 
rotten or worm-eaten, and only very little of it solid and of 
a useful character for working up. 

The most ancient seat of exploration for coral was 
Sicily. In the time of Cosmo I. of IMedici, it was intro- 
duced by this prince at Pisa, where Sicilian workmen were 
located, and where, up to the present day, as well as in 
Leghorn, there is a certain trade in coral. 

Trapani has, however, always been the great seat of art 
manufacture in coral, and some masterly pieces of work, 
mythological and religious subjects, have been turned out 
there. Indeed, a royal coral factory was established and 
encouraged at Portici, near Naples, by Murat, during his 
sovereignty. 

His Grace the Duke of St. Albans possesses a fine 
carved head in coral, evidently of Greek workmanship, 
which proves that this material for artistic purposes is of 
very ancient origin. 

The value of the coral annually obtained from Sardinia 
is about ^60,000, which, after deducting all expenses, 
leaves a net profit of ^13,000. The quantity exported 

2 G 



450 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

ranges from 200,000 to 250,000 lbs. It is chiefly found 
in the shallow waters near Carloforte, Alghero, a province 
situated on the west coast, and the island of Maddalena. At 
Alghero, where the growth of coral is the most plentiful, 
about 190 vessels, manned by 1930 sailors, are employed 
in the fishery from March till October. 

This industry annually acquires larger importance, 
and the fishing is prosecuted with increased energy. The 
greater part of the boats employed are Italian, and they 
take to Genoa, Leghorn, and Naples their produce, which 
forms one of the principal branches of the trade of the 
peninsula. 

The barks sent to the fishing are solid and well adapted 
for the labour ; their rig is a great lateen sail and a jib or 
stay-sail. The stern is reserved for the capstan, the fishers, 
and the crew. The fore part of the vessel is fitted for the 
requirements of the patron or master. 

The lines, wood, and irons employed in the coral 
fisheries are called the engine. It consists of a cross of 
wood formed of two bars, strongly lashed or bolted 
together at their centre ; below this a great stone is 
attached which bears the lines, arranged in the form of 
a sack. These lines have great meshes, loosely knotted 
together, resembling the well-known swab. The apparatus 
carries 30 of these sacks, which are intended to grapple all 
they come in contact with at the bottom of the sea. They 
are spread out in all directions by the movement of the 
boat. The coral is known to attach itself to the summit of 
a rock and to develop itself, forming banks there, and it is 
to these rocks that the swab attaches itself so as to tear up 
the precious harvest. Experience, which in time becomes 
almost intuitive, guides the Italian fisher in discovering the 
coral banks. The craft employed in the great fishery have 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries. 451 

a "patron " or captain, the bark having a poop, with a crew 
of eight or ten sailors ; and, in the season, the fishery is 
continued night and day. 

When the patron thinks that he has reached a coral 
bank he throws his engine overboard. As soon as the 
apparatus is attached, the speed of the vessel is retarded, 
the capstan is manned by six or eight men, while the 
others guide the helm or trim the sails. Two forces are 
thus brought to act upon the lines — the horizontal action of 
the vessel and the vertical action of the capstan. In con- 
sequence of the many inequalities of the rocky bottom, the 
engine advances by jerks ; the vessel yielding more or less, 
according to the concussion caused by the action of the 
capstan or sail. The engine seizes upon the rugged rocks 
at the bottom and raises them to let them fall again. In 
this manner the swab, floating about, penetrates beneath 
the rocks where the coral is found, and is hooked on to it. 
To fix the lines upon the coral and bring them home is a 
work of unheard-of labour. The engine long resists the 
most energetic and repeated efforts of the crew, who, ex- 
posed almost naked to the burning sun of the Mediter- 
ranean, work the capstan to which the cable and engine 
are attached, while the patron urges and excites them to 
increased exertion, and the sailors trim the sail and 
sing, with a slow and monotonous tone, a song the 
words of which improvise in a sort of psalmody the names 
of the saints most revered among the seafaring Italian 
population. 

The lines are finally brought home, tearing and breaking 
blocks of rocks, sometimes of enormous size, which are 
brought on board. The cross is now placed on the side of 
the vessel, the lines are arranged on the deck, and the crew 
occupy themselves in collecting the results of their labour. 



452 The Commercial Prodiicts of the Sea. 

The coral is gathered together ; the branches of precious 
zoophyte are cleansed and divested of the shells and other 
parasitic products which accompany them ; finally, the 
produce is carried to and sold in the ports of Messina, 
Naples, Genoa, and Leghorn, where the workers in jewellery 
purchase them. 

The boats employed are of two classes. One kind, by 
far the most numerous, is composed of vessels of from 
II to i6 tons burden, with crews of 12 to 14 men. They 
are all fitted out at Torre del Greco, under the Italian flag, 
and fish during the months of February and March. The 
second class includes craft of from three to six tons burden, 
under the French flag, although they are almost entirely 
manned by Italian seamen. Their crews consist of five or 
six men, and they continue at sea most part of the year. 
The boats fish on the coasts of Africa and Sardinia, at a 
distance of 15 to 30 miles from shore, only returning to 
port in case of urgent necessity. They work night and 
day without intermission ; half of the crew relieve the other 
half every six hours. The larger class of vessels is fast 
superseding the small, and it is calculated that there are 
now about 200 of the larger vessels employed, with 2400 
men. The seamen receive from £20 to ^"24 each per 
annum, and the masters about twice that amount. The 
entire value and equipage of a large boat, including drag- 
nets, stores, and six months' wages, may be estimated at 
about ;^550. Such a boat may probably collect from 650 
to 850 lbs. of coral in the season. 

Hitherto the fishery has been conducted on the old 
primitive method of the drag-net or rough dredge, formed 
of a cross of wood with a quantity of hemp attached, to 
tear up the coral. One would have supposed, with the 
enhanced value which coral now commands, some efl"orts 



Coral and the Co7^al Fisheries. 453 

would have been made to improve the processes for pro- 
curing the branches from the sea bottom. 

The diving-bell has been attempted for coral fishing, 
but, like the pearl fisheries, it does not succeed. An Italian 
named Foseli has, however, been lately experimenting with 
a submarine vessel of his invention intended for coral 
fishing. It was tried satisfactorily at Boza, in the Bay of 
Naples, in the presence of leading men of the Italian 
naval, scientific, and civil service. The invention consists 
of wrought-iron plates divided into three compartments, 
of which the lowest contains 1000 lbs. of ballast ; the 
second or middle chamber is prepared to accommodate two 
persons ; the third or uppermost chamber is filled with 
compressed air. This compressed air, by means of in- 
genious machinery, is capable of supplying means sufficient 
to sustain the life of two persons for 50 hours. At one of 
the late experiments, this vessel descended to a distance of 
38 fathoms below the surface of the water, and remained 
submerged for 22 J minutes, without the slightest discomfort 
being experienced by the navigators. The specific gravity 
of the ballast serves to retain the vessel in an upright 
position, and peculiarly simple machinery enables it to 
move in any direction. An attached illuminating arrange- 
ment renders objects within a large area perfectly visible. 
Other varieties of the machine, for sponge and pearl fish- 
ing, requiring a deeper descent, are designed by the 
inventor. 

The Spanish fishermen collect, off the Cape Verde 
Islands, about 24,760 lbs. of coral, of the value of ;^20,ooo. 

On the south coast of Corsica, coral of various qualities 
is found in large quantities. The coral fishery is entirely 
in the hands of the Italians. About 60 boats are employed 
annually ; each boat, fishing on an average for six months, 



454 ^^^^ Commercial Prodttds of the Sea, 

obtains from four to six hundredweight of coral in the 
rouo^h, which is at once carried over to Italy. 

Coral is found in more or less abundance along the 
coast of the Regency of Tunis, Algiers, and the shores of 
Morocco. The French Government, between 1806 and 
1824, made repeated attempts to renew its engagements 
with Tunis for a monopoly of the coral fishing, but it was 
not until 1852 that France obtained the exclusive privilege 
over the coral fisheries in the Tunisian waters for the 
annual payment of ^^355- 

The coral found on the Barbary coast is principally red, 
but white and black, as well as the much-prized pink, also 
exist. The latter kind is most frequently obtained on the 
Galita and Fratelli rock banks. There are about 90 coral 
fishing-boats at La Calle and 20 at Bona, chiefly owned by 
Italians, three or four only being the property of Maltese, 
who reside permanently in Algeria. From 80 to 100 
vessels fitted out at Torre del Greco arrive yearly at the 
proper season at La Calle, and 50 or 60 make Biserta their 
fishing station. The coral fishery is but little practised by 
the French, although a few boats follow this industry in the 
Mediterranean ; several of them use the diving apparatus 
to collect the coral. The exports from Algeria are valued 
annually at about ^80,000. There are about 6000 
Italians and Spaniards engaged in the Algerian fishery. 
The French sailors do not like the hard work and short 
food. 

On the Algerian coast the number of boats engaged 
in this fishery has averaged of late years about 300, more 
than two-thirds of which are Italian. The quantity of 
coral obtained it is difficult to state precisely, but according 
to the declarations of the fishermen it would appear to 
average 35,000 kilogrammes. 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries. 455 



The coral is here divided on arrival into several cate- 
gories, of which the following are the principal : — 

1. Dead or rotten coral. In this class is included the 
roots adhering to the rock and covered with stony particles 
and vegetable encrustations. The value ranges from 5 to 
20 francs the kilogramme. 

2. Black coral. This kind, with a polished black tint, is 
employed for making mourning jewellery ; if of good quality 
it fetches from 12 to 15 francs the kilogramme, or more. 

3. Coral in case. This name is given to coral which 
has been assorted and cleaned when taken from the sea, 
and consists of branches of all sizes. It is worth from 
45 to 70 francs the kilogramme. 

4. Choice coral. This is the finest selected coral, in 
large branches, which the fishermen sell separately as high 
as 400 or 500 francs the kilogramme, according as the stems 
are more or less straight, and of handsome appearance. 

The expenses and returns from the coral fishery in this 
locality are thus estimated by M. Lacaze-Duthiers : * — A 
large boat of 15 or 16 tons, manned by 12 men, involves 
on an average an outlay of 11,000 francs for a season of 
six months. A boat which obtains in the season 250 kilo- 
grammes of coral, at 50 francs, covers its expenses. A 
boat which obtains 300 kilogrammes realizes, according to 
the quality of the coral, a profit of 2000 to 3000 francs. 
The fishery with the diving-bell is much more advanta- 
geous. 

The same author estimates the annual yield of the coral 
fishery on the coasts of Algiers and Tunis at 2,500,000 
francs, and the value of the produce when worked up at 
12,000,000 francs ; so that the fishery, the working, and 

* " Natural History of Coral," I vol., large 8vo., coloured plates. Paris, 
J. Bailliere and Son. 1864. 



45 6 The Commeixial Products of the Sea. 

the sale of coral gives employment to a good deal of 
capital. 

A year or two ago a new coral reef was discovered on 
the coast of Palmi in Calabria, and the local sailors fished 
up a large quantity of rose-coloured coral of good quality, 
and many pieces of considerable size were obtained. The 
reputation of the bank soon drew the attention of the bold 
fishers of Torre del Greco, and three boats- were forthwith 
equipped and sent there, and did well. 

Imitations of coral have been tried, but with not very 
great success. A few years ago coraline, a tolerably cheap 
substitute, was very common for beads, bracelets, etc., and 
might be seen in the galleries of the Palais Royal, Paris, 
and other shops where cheap jewellery is sold. Although it 
imitated tolerably well the rose-pink coral, yet the artificial 
beads were too regular, smooth, and uniform to pass 
muster among those who had any knowledge of the true 
marine product, and rt is scarcely seen now. Even the 
natives of the East, who are thought to be shrewd and well- 
informed on all matters of gems and jewellery, may occa- 
sionally be imposed upon. Strings of large coral beads 
of uniform size, lOO on a string, are in great demand for 
chaplets in parts of Asia, and a visit was once paid to the 
shop of Messrs. Phillips by a number of distinguished 
foreigners, who admired the beauty and proportions of the 
chaplets submitted to them, but expressed unbounded 
astonishment at the price asked. Not long after their de- 
parture they came back, expressing great indignation at 
the imposition attempted to be practised on them, declaring 
that they had purchased a similar article for one-tenth or 
one-twelfth the price asked, and they exposed numerous 
strings of coraline. They were asked to put the two 
articles to the test with a knife, and the true coral was, of 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries. 



457 



course, unassailable, while the artificial composition splin- 
tered and broke. The result was an appeal to the police 
court for redress for the fraud that had been practised on 
them. 

Ivory beads are sometimes dyed to imitate coral ; but 
this seems a sad waste of good material, the natural ivory, 
being preferable to the tinted. 

A coral bank of superior quality was discovered, in the 
middle of May, 1875, by a Sicilian fisherman, in the waters 
of Sciacca. As the fishermen there were not familiar with 
this mode of fishing, they invited the fishermen of Torre del 
Greco and of the port of Empedocle to come over and 
instruct them, at the same time ofi*ering them a share of the 
profits. Soon all the boats of the neighbouring coasts 
arrived at the bank, which caused such frays that the 
authorities judged it necessary to station a man-of-war 
there. 

The bank, about 550 yards in length in the direction of 
west-south-west by east-north-east, and about 30 yards in 
thickness, yielded at first rich supplies : a small boat with 
eight men collected from 30 to 40 lbs. of coral a day ; the 
coral sold at 11^. per lb., less five per cent, tare, so that each 
boat showed a daily gain of £20. But the bank was gradually 
exhausted, and the coral diminished in value ; by the 15th 
of July it had fallen to Js. per lb., with eight per cent, tare, 
and towards the end it did not sell for more than 2s. 6d. 
per lb., with ten per cent. tare. It was estimated that from 
the 1st of June to the 31st of August, 1875, the quantity of 
coral fished up amounted to 264,000 lbs. The coral sold 
at an average price of ys. per lb., therefore the total fishery 
brought in ;^92,400. 

It is well to note that the fisherman who discovered the 
bank only received the small sum of ^10 as reward, and 



45 S The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



this he had to collect halfpenny by halfpenny from the 
fishermen. 

Mr. Herries, in a report of 1868 on the industrial con- 
dition of Italy, stated that there were then 365 boats 
employed in the coral fishery, of which 267 belonged to 
Naples, and the rest to Leghorn and other places on the 
Genoese coasts. These boats employed 2699 men and 
boys. The value of the produce ranged from ^280 to 
£Z20 for each boat during the season. 

About 160 tons of coral are annually brought into Italy, 
and the articles made of coral, exported, are valued at 
nearly ^^500,000. 

At the Maritime Exhibition held at Naples in 1871, the 
following statistics were published respecting the Italian 
coral fishery : — 

No. of boats. 

Torre del Greco ... ... ... 300 

Leghorn ... ... ... ... 60 

Liguria and Sardinia ... ... ... 100 

460 

The value of the large boats w^as £160, and of the 
smaller ones £So\ the collective capital, 1,000. There 
were from 6 to 12 men employed in each boat, making a 
total of about 4000. The wages paid was about i^8o,ooo, 
and the provisions came to half as much more. The coral 
fishery gave employment to some 6000 persons. Each 
boat, in order to defray the necessary expenses dis- 
bursed for outfit, provisions, wages, etc., ought to obtain 
200 kilogrammes of coral, which, at an average of £2 Ss. 
the kilogramme, would yield £4.^0. The coral received in 
the kingdom of Italy was stated to amount to 160,000 
kilogrammes, worth about ^380,000. 

The shops working on coral were stated to be — at Torre 



Coral and the Coral Fisheries, 



459 



del Greco, 24 ; Leghorn, 1 5 ; Genoa, 20. Later statistics 
make the boats engaged in the fishery from Torre del 
Greco 329, and the workshops there, 40. The workmen 
employed were about 6000, who gained i^200,ooo, or an 
average of a little more than 35 francs annually. 

There were 239 boats engaged in the fishery on the 
Alghero banks, Italy, in 1873, and 159 in 1874. The 
coral obtained was as follows : — 





Red coral. 


White coral. 


Total. 


Value. 




Kilogrammes. 


Kilogrammes. 


Kilogrammes. 




1873 


25,384 


9536 


34,920 


1 60, 080 


1874 


12,260 


6758 


20,018 


93,960 



The coral fishery of Cagliari gave employment in 1875 
to 180 boats, and the produce was below 1,000,000 francs, 
against 2,350,000 francs obtained in 1874. 

The manufactured articles sell, of course, at much higher 
prices than when in the rough state, so that coral is by 
no means an inconsiderable source of emolument to the 
Italians. 

Great quantities, when manufactured, are exported to 
India, and in Leghorn and Genoa several establishments 
work exclusively for that distant market, where blood-red 
coral, the colour of which harmonizes with the dark com- 
plexions of the native ladies, is particularly in demand. 
Coral beads of a large size are in high estimation through- 
out Hindostan, and are usually sold for their weight in 
silver. Manufactured coral to the value of 208,000 was 
sent from Brindisi to Egypt in 1873. 

The following return furnishes the official quantity and 
value of the imports of coral and coral articles into the 



460 The Commeixial Products of the Sea. 



United Kingdom for a series of years. The returns can- 
not be carried down later than 1870, as the Board of Trade 
has ceased to enumerate coral specially : — 



Imports of Coral into the United Kingdom, of different kinds, 
in pounds weight. 



Year. 


Fragments. 


Whole. 


Negligees. 


Beads. 


Total. 




lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs 


lbs. 


lbs. 


1855 


2,172 


285 


1718 






1856 


13.270 


308 


2780 






1857 


28 


218 


1872 






1858 


645 


397 


1840 






1859 


1,255 

338 


621 


2955 






i860 


1 134 


1633 


3568 


6,673 


1861 


15,639 


84 


602 


3654 


19,979 


1862 


1,468 


50 


1224 


1427 


4,169 


1863 


183 


318 


586 


1829 


2,916 


1864 


3,617 


758 


446 


3000 


7,821 


1865 


2,914 


391 


258 


994 


4,557 


1866 


4,439 


276 


232 


1385 


6,332 


1867 


7,539 


225 


115 


2543 


10,422 


1868 


7,120 


262 


724 


4375 


12,481 


1869 


5,332 


786 


411 


1210 




1870 


1,600 


418 


652 


958 





Computed Net Value of Coral imported — Rough, Negligees, 
Beads, etc. 



1860 ... ... ... ... ;^38,892 

1861 ... ... ... ... 33,403 

1862 ... ... ... ... 20,163 

1863 ... ... ... ... 22,657 

1864 ... ... ... ... 37,659 

1865 13,970 

1866 ... ... ... ... 17,899 

1867 ... ... ... ... 29,487 

1868 45,395 

1869 ... ... ... ... 18,834 

1870 ... ... ... ... 14,878 



If we take the weight of coral imported, we notice great 



Coral and the Co7^al Fisheries. 461 



fluctuations in the annual quantity received. The following 
are the comparative annual figures : — 





lbs. 


1^55 


4,175 


1856 


16,358 


1857 


2,118 


1858 


2,882 


1859 


4,831 


i860 


... 3,105 


I80I 


... 16,385 


1502 


2,742 


1863 


1,087 


1864 


... 4,821 


1865 


3,563 


1866 


... 4,947 


1867 


7,879 


1868 


... 8,106 


1869 


6,529 


1870 


... 2,670 



The Indian trade in coral in 1875 shows a very slight 
decrease on that of 1873-74, when it amounted to £66f)'^<^ ; 
but it is slowly recovering from the depression of previous 
years, that depression having, it is believed, been partly 
caused by the imposition of a duty of j\ per cent, in April, 
1870. The value of the imports was as follows : — 



1868- 69 ;^93,I26 

1869- 70 65,285 

1870- 71 ... ... ... ... 45,441 

1871- 72 ... ... ... ... 54,894 

1872- 73 ... ... ... ... 40,013 

1873- 74 ... ... ... ••■ 66,689 

1874- 75 ■ 53,558 



Though the imposition of the duty probably had an 
immediate effect in reducing the importations, it must be 
remarked that the trade is of a variable and fluctuating 
nature. It is mainly in the hands of a few foreign firms, 
from whom natives purchase the coral for sale in the 
interior at great fairs and religious gatherings. Coral forms 



462 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



a favourite adornment for native children, as well as for 
adults, in certain classes of the population. The demand 
for coral depends upon the out-turn of the crops of the 
year. After an abundant harvest rupees will be freely 
exchanged for a string of corals to be added to those 
already worn as a necklace, but in a poor year the coral 
merchant will find his stock almost unsaleable at any price, 
and his next importations will consequently be on a very 
reduced scale. 

Coral forms a large item of the Indian exports to 
Thibet. The preference is for round grains pierced, or oval 
grains with the ends truncated and pierced through the 
length. A piece as large as a pea fetches its weight in 
gold, and the price augments with the size. The darkest 
colours are the most esteemed. 

In China coral constitutes an important article of trade. 
Various sorts are imported from Singapore, Sumatra, and 
the Samar Islands. Red coral is termed shan-lm, the 
white variety shik-hwa, but the black is more esteemed 
than any other colour. This is wrought into official 
buttons and beads, the inferior kinds being made into ear 
and finger rings. It is powdered and used there in medi- 
cine and in ophthalmia. Various madrepores and polypes 
have also a medicinal reputation in China. 

A bank of coral of great richness is stated to have been 
discovered on the coasts of Japan. The coral collected is 
said to possess this peculiarity, that it is white in the centre 
and at all the lateral points, which are numerous on the 
branches. It is not, however, likely to prove useful for work- 
ing up, as it appears to scale or break off. But a small 
quantity has yet been brought up. The principal fishery was 
to commence shortly, when more information will be 
obtained, but it does not appear likely to compete with 
the coral fished from the coasts of Italy and Sicily. . 



( 463 ) 



CHAPTER VI. 

AMBER AND THE AMBER FISHERIES. 

Source of amber — Chemical composition of the resin — Uses and application — 
Statistics of imports — Diving and fishing for amber — Prussian coasts of 
the Baltic the chief source of supply — Statistics of the trade — Large speci- 
mens found — Roumanian amber. 

Having dealt with tortoise-shell, mother-of-pearl, pearls, 
and coral, we come now to consider a product of a some- 
what amphibious character, and which, unlike those already 
treated of, is vegetable in its origm. Still it is largely 
dredged and fished for on the seashores, and as the 
greater part is obtained from the sea, it properly comes 
under the section of " Marine Contributions to Art." 

Amber is a resinous exudation from an extinct species 
of conifer, called by Goppert Pinites succinifer. The source 
of amber was long uncertain ; by some it was considered a 
carbonaceous mineral. 

Professor Zaddach shows that the trees which yielded 
the amber must have grown upon the greensand beds of 
the cretaceous period, flourishing luxuriantly on the marshy 
coast which then surrounded the great continent of 
Northern Europe. Probably the temperature was much 
higher than it is now; and this even at that epoch ex- 
tended to the now frost-bound Arctic regions, a fact 



464 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

which has been proved by the remarkable plant-remains of 
temperate climes which have been recently discovered there. 
The amber flora of the Baltic area under review contains 
northern forms associated with plants of more temperate 
zones ; thus camphor-trees {Ciniiamomum) occur with 
willows, birches, beech, and numerous oaks. A species of 
Thuya, very similar to the American TJmya occidentalism is 
the most abundant tree amongst the conifers ; next in 
abundance Widdidngtonia, a great variety of pines and 
firs, including the amber-pine. Thousands of these, it is 
supposed by the professor, might have perished, and while 
the wood decayed, the resin with which the stem and 
branches were loaded might have been accumulated in 
large quantities, in bogs and lakes, in the soil of the forest. 
If the coast at that time was gradually sinking, the sea 
would cover the land, and in due course carry away the 
amber and masses of vegetable detritus into the ocean, 
where it was deposited amidst the marine animals which 
inhabit it. But in higher districts the amber-pine would 
still flourish, and so amber still continues to be washed 
into the sea and deposited in the later formed greensand 
and still later overlying formation of the brown coal. 

Reboux states that at the eocene epoch the bed of the 
Baltic Sea was occupied by an immense forest, which 
spread over nearly the whole northern continent. Dredg- 
ing carried on at a depth of 64 feet below the sea bottom 
has brought to light thereby two species of conifers, a 
poplar, a chestnut, and various other trees. From the 
conifers, the author thinks, ran the resin which, through 
being buried in the earth, has become changed into amber. 
The largest quantity of the gum appears to have been 
derived from the Pimis sticcinus. More than 200 speci- 
mens of objects have been found embedded in the gum, 



Amber and the Amber Fisheries. 465 

including insects, reptiles, plants, leaves, grains, shells, 
fruit, etc. 

The density of natural amber varies from 1*09 to 1*1 1. 
Its analysis, according to Schrotter, is : Carbon, ']'^''^2 ; 
hydrogen, I0'23 ; oxygen, lO'QO. 

Amber is harder than most resins, and is susceptible of 
a good polish. It was known to the ancients, and called 
"electrum," on account of its electrical susceptibility; it 
was also engraved and used by the ancients for seals. 

It occurs abundantly on the Prussian coast of the 
Baltic, from Dantzic to Memel. It is also found on the 
coast of Denmark and Sweden ; in Gallicia, Poland, 
Moravia, the Ural ; Switzerland, near Basle ; France, near 
Paris ; near London ; in various parts of Asia, and in the 
greensand of New Jersey ; also in Japan. It is chiefly 
obtained from Prussia, and is not very abundant in other 
countries. 

With it are found fragments of lignite, and it frequently 
contains insects of extinct species embedded in its sub- 
stance ; it is also marked with the impression of branches 
and bark. It is sometimes thrown up in great quantities 
after storms. It contains a volatile oil, two resins (soluble 
in alcohol and ether), succinic acid, and an insoluble bitu- 
minous substance. 

For ages amber has been valued for ornamental pur- 
poses, such as necklaces, bracelets, brooches, crosses, ear- 
drops, silver links, and the like. It was also formerly much 
used for inlaying cabinets and ladies' jewel-cases, and a 
large picture frame inlaid with it was shown at the Naples 
Maritime Exhibition. The cloudy or milk-white amber, 
not that which is clear, is held in the highest esteem. The 
light-green variety, and that which is of one perfectly 
uniform colour throughout, are exceptions to this rule. 

2 H 



466 The Commercial Prodticts of the Sea. 



The beauty and hardness of amber have caused it to be 
long esteemed by smokers for mouthpieces of pipes and 
tubes for cigar-holders. In the fine and extensive collec- 
tion of pipes, etc., belonging to W. Bragge, Esq., shown at 
the London Exhibition, South Kensington, in 1872, there 
were some very large amber mouth-pieces for hookahs, 
both clouded and clear ; also in the case of Mr. F. Kapp, 
of 62, Dean Street, Soho. In Turkey, as much as ^300 
has been given for a very fine mouthpiece. I recently saw 
at the shop of Messrs. Phillips, Cockspur Street, a magni- 
ficent pair of amber tubes or mouth-pieces attached to 
hookahs. 

The Turks esteem amber for mouthpieces, in the belief 
that no infectious disease can be communicated through 
it ; the Germans now prefer it for its rich colour and 
its soft, waxy feeling in the mouth. Its value differs 
greatly, according to its tint and opacity, and herein a 
novice would be easily deceived. The bright yellow trans- 
parent amber is least valuable, however it may catch the 
eye. Dark, nearly opaque yellow has a much higher value, 
and the best of all is the opaque lemon-coloured. Mr. J. J. 
Jeans, the British vice-consul at Catania, showed at the 
Dublin International Exhibition in 1865 an amber neck- 
lace, consisting of 21 large flattened beads and 22 small 
ones. The ornament was of considerable mineralogical 
interest, the amber being found on the banks of the Simeto, 
a little river watering the plain of Catania. The specimen 
showed various colours of this rare substance — bright red, 
wine red, reddish yellow, and bluish. 

According to recent accounts, one of the Shah of 
Persia's most esteemed talismans or amulets is a cube of 
amber reported to have fallen from heaven in Mahomet's 
time. It is worn round his neck, and is supposed to render 



Amber and the Amber Fisheries. 467 

him invulnerable. The small and waste pieces of amber 
form the base of an excellent varnish, and the source of 
succinic acid. The trade in amber to this country would 
appear to be largely on the increase. In the five years 
ending 1853, our imports of rough amber averaged about 
43 cwts. ; in 1867 they reached 60 cwts., and in 1870 
had risen to 329 cwts. Besides this, we import a consider- 
able quantity of manufactured amber in beads, mouthpieces, 
etc. The average annual value of the amber, as declared 
in the last six years, is about ^2,400, but this is far below 
its real value. Amber beads, again, are mixed with the 
general item " Beads " in the official imports. 

Amber often contains insects, flies, ants, spiders, etc., 
embedded in the resin, some of which are so delicately 
formed that they could not have been thus enclosed except 
in a fluid mass, such as a volatile oil or natural balsam. 
They occur also frequently in the courbaril resin of South 
America, in Indian dammar and anime, and in copal from 
Accra, West Africa. 

Amber is found in primary deposits on the coast of 
East Prussia. The amber-bearing stratum, which lies partly 
below the sea level, partly above, is a bluish-green colour, 
and consists of a coarse-grained sand, whose particles have 
a yellow coating. In this blue earth is found the amber to 
the amount of one kilogramme per 20 cubic feet. The 
pieces of amber found are generally weathered, but have 
retained their original shape, showing that the sea has had 
but little action on them. The colour is far from constant, 
being of all shades of yellow and brown. 

The amber-dredging establishment at Schwarzort, on 
the Curish HafT (near to Memel), produces about 80,000 to 
90,000 lbs. of amber every year, and is still in the hands of 
a Konigsberg firm, which keeps its transactions very secret. 



468 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

Four steam-dredges are employed for the collection of the 
amber, as well as a considerable, number of dredges worked 
by hand. The amber is found almost uniformly in separate 
nodules, with lignite, disseminated in the sand, at a depth 
of from 10 to 12 feet. The dredging is carried on day and 
night, by "shifts" of men, working eight hours each. About 
400 persons are so employed, and their wages are, on the 
average, 2s. 6d. per shift. The quantity of amber collected 
is considerable, amounting to about 288 lbs. per shift, and 
for six days' work 51,184 lbs. The sand, after being 
dredged up, is sent on shore, where it is washed, in order to 
find the amber. 

The method of obtaining amber from its ocean place 
of deposit in other parts is much on the principle of the 
ordinary submarine diving-dress. A woollen garment 
covers the entire body of the diver. This is again encom- 
passed by an india-rubber dress, made in one piece, but 
differing in shape from the old-fashioned diving-dress, and 
allowing the diver to lie at full length. The helmet, also, 
is of a novel construction. Firmly fastened to it, and rest- 
ing on the shoulders, is a small air-chest, made of sheet- 
iron. This last is connected with the air-pump in the boat 
above by an india-rubber tubing, 40 feet long, and with the 
diver's lungs by another india-rubber tube, the mouthpiece 
of which is held by the diver between his teeth ; the whole 
apparatus being scientifically arranged so as to admit a 
sufficient supply of pure air from above, and means of exit 
for the expired breath. The helmet is provided with three 
openings, covered with glass and protected by wire, for the 
use of the eyes and mouth. When this contrivance has been 
screwed on to the person of the diver, a rope tied round his 
waist, and half a hundred-weight of lead attached to his feet, 
shoulders, and helmet, he is ready for his plunge. Down, 



Amber and the Amber Fisheries, 469 

fathoms deep, he descends into the amber world. He stays 
there, maybe, for five hours at a time, hooking, dragging, 
tearing the amber from its bed with his heavy two-pronged 
fork. Often it resists his utmost efforts. However cold 
the weather may be, these men of iron strength will come 
up from their submarine labours streaming with perspira- 
tion. The overseer stands in the boat to receive the amber 
from their pockets. In case he should wish to ascend 
before the usual time, the diver has to close his mouth and 
breathe five or six times through his nostrils, by this means 
filling the apparatus with air, which will bring him to the 
surface without other assistance. 

The diving-boats are manned by eight men each — two 
divers, two pairs of men who work the air-pumps alter- 
nately, with their eyes fixed on a dial-plate, by which the 
supply of air is nicely indicated, one man to hold the 
safety-rope attached round the diver's body, and haul him 
at the slightest sign from below, and the overseer. 

At the Vienna Exhibition, 1873, some interesting 
diving apparatus was shown, as used on the eastern coast 
of Prussia, for obtaining amber. This apparatus, which 
received a gold medal at the Moscow Exhibition of 1872, 
is constructed on the system of MM. Rouxquayrol-Denay- 
roux ; some alterations and improvements having, however, 
been introduced, so as to give greater safety. The air is 
transmitted to the diver through long india-rubber tubes, 
by means of an easily transportable air-pump, with two 
cylinders. These tubes, which are strengthened by spiral 
wires, conduct the air to a regulator carried on the diver's 
back. The completely air and water tight dress of the 
diver is connected by an india-rubber ring with a copper 
helmet, or also with a mask, the helmet and mask being 
provided with strongly grated windows. The helmet is 



470 The Com7nercial Products of the Sea. 

used for works under water in which the head of the diver 
has to be kept upright (repairing ships, for instance), while 
the mask is adopted for researches and examinations on 
the sea bottom. 

A great advantage of this arrangement is that the diver 
has always a certain reserve quantity of air in the regulator, 
so that a falling off in the supply of air is not connected 
with immediate danger or disadvantages for him. The 
supply of air to the diver is regulated by a peculiarly con- 
structed valve, by means of which the pressure, under which 
the air is supplied, corresponds always with the depth of 
the water in which the diver is acting. 

The air coming from the diver is not allowed to mix 
with the fresh supply of air, but escapes to the surface 
through a side-port closed by an india-rubber valve. The 
diver is able to increase or diminish his specific weight by 
simply altering the volume of air between his dress and 
body ; and, in this manner, it is in his power to ascend or 
descend as he likes. 

Amber constitutes an important article of trade on the 
Dantzic coast, and it is exported, both in pieces and 
worked, to Austria, France, and the East. This trade is 
completely in the hands of a few families. The principal 
deposit is found on the coast of Samland, from Pillau to 
Gross Hubnicken. In this space of three miles the ex- 
traction of amber is farmed by the Government. The 
annual yield is about 200,000 lbs. The produce is classed 
into six qualities, according to the size and quality of the 
pieces. 

The largest piece known is 13 J inches long by eight and 
a half inches wide, and three to six inches thick. It weighs 
13 J lbs., and is in the Berlin Museum. At the Great 
Exhibition of 1 851, two pieces were shown, for beauty and 



Amber and the Amber Fisheries. 



471 



size, from Konigsberg, weighing respectively four and a 
half and six pounds. In 1854 a bed of yellow amber of 
considerable extent was discovered at Prague, in sinking 
a well, and pieces weighing two and three pounds were 
extracted. 

The trade in this article is annually increasing in im- 
portance, and as a very large part of all the amber appear- 
ing in the various markets of the world is supplied by the 
province of Prussia, including the neighbouring district of 
Memel, it may be interesting to give a short account of its 
appearance in that part of Germany. 

Mr. Ward, the British vice-consul at Memel, in a recent 
official report, furnishes some full details as to the trade. 

In the western portion of the province of Prussia amber 
is found, not only on the seashore, but also in the moun- 
tainous ranges of the interior. Excepting, however, in rare 
cases of its appearance in so-called " nests," amber is only 
to be met with in isolated pieces in the latter localities, so 
that the profit arising from the amber diggings amongst 
the hills is but a very moderate one, and may be estimated 
at about double the amount paid by the proprietors for the 
wages of the diggers. In East Prussia, however, and 
especially in that part called the Samland, amber is more 
abundant, and, during the prevalence of certain winds, is 
frequently thrown upon the shore by the sea in large quan- 
tities. It is collected there as well as fished for in the surf, 
as also dug out of the sand hillocks running along the 
seacoast. In these sand hillocks regular beds of amber 
are found enclosed in a soil of blue clay, which is to be 
met with at an average depth of about 100 feet, in a thick- 
ness of 25 to 30 feet. It is stated that out of some 
diggings established in those parts, 4500 lbs. of amber 
were raised in the course of four months of the year 1869. 



472 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

I^iggii^gs of this kind exist at present in various spots of 
the Samland, more especially at Wanzen, Sassan, Gros- 
kuhren, Kleinkuhren, Kraxtepellen, Kreislacken, and Hub- 
nicken. Besides these works there are other establishments 
at Brusterort, where amber is obtained by divers from the 
bottom of the sea, and at Schwarzort, near Memel, where it 
is raised by dredging for it at the bottom of the Curish 
Haff. Its importance and size have of late years increased 
considerably, and at present about 80,000 lbs. of amber are 
annually obtained by it. 

The total amount of amber obtained during the year 
1869 was about 150,000 lbs., the value of which may 
be taken at about ;£"8 2,500. The quantity collected (by 
fishing for it) in the sea and upon the shore is about equal 
to that raised by the digging and dredging works. Accord- 
ing to the opinion of competent persons, the produce of 
the diggings could be increased considerably by working 
them upon a regular mining system. Apart from the fact 
that no certain knowledge has hitherto been arrived at as 
to the actual extent of the amber-fields in the blue clay — 
and these fields exist, most probably, not only in the 
vicinity of the seacoast, but also in the interior of the 
Samland, and even beyond that district and the frontiers 
of Eastern Prussia — it is most likely that below the stratum 
of clay to which the diggings are at present confined, there 
are other strata in which amber would be met with. This 
supposition is based upon the circumstance that consider- 
able quantities of amber have been found amongst the soil 
washed away by the sea, during heavy gales, from shore 
portions of the coastal sand-hills which lie below the layer 
of blue clay first alluded to. 

The prices of the principal kinds of amber are stated by 
an official report to be about as follows : — 



Amber and the Amber Fisheries. 473 



lb. of 9 pieces for pi 




ipe mouthpieces 



^. d. 

66 o 

45 o 

30 o 

19 6 



100 



12 o 



200 



9 o 
30 o 
18 o 



30 
60 



beads 



100 



12 o 



The prices of larger (so-called cabinet) pieces are sub- 
ject to great fluctuations, and are fixed by the increase or 
decrease of demand from the East ; and the prices of the 
commoner kinds seldom vary more than about 10 per 
cent. 

The chief seat of the retail amber trade is Dantzic ; the 
wholesale trade is at present in the hands of only two or 
three firms in the province of Prussia. The working of the 
Prussian amber into mouthpieces, beads, etc., is likewise 
carried on at Dantzic, but also in other large cities. 

Amber is sent chiefly to Vienna, London, Paris, Moscow, 
and New York, in all of which cities the Prussian merchants 
keep agents, who are supplied with stocks of this article, 
assorted according to the requirements of the place. Great 
progress has lately been made with regard to the sorting 
of the various kinds of amber. There are now no less than 
50 distinct kinds, difl"ering in size, colour, hardness, and 
clearness. It is owing partly to this circumstance, and 
partly to the growing extent of the demand, that an in- 
crease in the sale of amber continues to take place. The 
demand from South Germany, Russia, the Danubian princi- 
palities, and the East in general, as compared with the 
comparatively limited amount hitherto obtainable, will, it is 
thought, prevent any increase of production from acting pre- 
judicially on the gross profits of the trade in this article. 



474 ^^^^ Commercial Products of the Sea. 

Considering, moreover, the almost entire absence of mineral 
products in this part of Prussia, and the importance of 
opening additional channels of employment for the inhab- 
itants, the Konigsberg Chamber of Commerce strongly 
recommends the introduction of the system above alluded 
to, by which the amber diggings might be extended, and 
worked upon a regular mining principle. 

Amber is found in beds of lignite in various other coun- 
tries, more particularly in the Adriatic, on the Sicilian shore. 

In oriental commerce it is carried into India from 
Japan, the Philippines, and Madagascar. A considerable 
quantity of false amber, or copal, is imported into Canton 
annually, the imports averaging about 187 cwts. per quarter. 
The greater portion comes from the eastern coast of Africa. 
Its value in China was formerly very great for incense and 
for making ornaments. Transparent yellow pieces are 
considered the best by the Chinese ; but the colour ranges 
from black and yellow through red and white. The price 
in the East, as here, varies according to size and quality. 

In Prussia amber is divided into two classes, Fliesen 
and the Erd Bernstein ; the former being found in water 
and the latter in mines. The Erd Bernstein amber is 
the most valuable, being hard and of a uniform colour. 

Amber is manufactured at Trinley, a village within two 
miles of the English coast, and distant ten miles from 
Ipswich. It is there made into crosses, bracelets, and other 
personal ornaments, and one family has been engaged in 
it for the last 30 years. The amber is procured by poor 
persons, who pick it up after wintry storms on the coast 
between Landguard Fort and Aldeburgh. Mr. J. Wiggin, 
of Ipswich, has a piece four ounces in weight, procured 
from this source, and has also purchased many pounds of 
it at various times. 



Amber and the Amber Fisheries. 475 

The late Mr. D. Alexander's famous piece, said to be 
the largest in England, is believed to have been picked up 
in the same locality. Her Majesty the Queen has, I 
believe, a very fine large piece of amber. 

There are many imitations of this beautiful resin, but 
none are so hard and enduring as the genuine article. The 
uninformed are, however, frequently deceived and taken in 
by pieces of anime, copal, or gum kowrie. 

Mr. Consul Hertslet, in his report on the trade of 
Konigsberg for 1870, stated that the production of amber 
was less than in former years — 14 15 cwt, against 17 10 cwt. 
in 1869; and the war annihilated the trade with France 
for raw and manufactured amber. A demand came un- 
expectedly from China, but soon dropped again. 

The dredging at Schwarzort brought 740 cwt. ; the 
diving at Brusterort, 300 cwt. ; the diggings in Samland, 
55 cwt; the fishing, etc., along the coast, 320 cwt. ; total, 
141 5 cwt, of the estimated total value of 500,000 rix 
thalers. 

The Prussian Amber Company Limited, Konigsberg, 
employs 2350 persons and 19 steam-engines in this trade, 
and sold in 1871 amber, obtained by divers and dredging 
on the coasts of the Baltic, to the value of 5 3,000. A 
diploma of honour was awarded at the Vienna Inter- 
national Exhibition to this company for the extent of its 
trade and the excellence of its amber. 

The extent of the amber-fields in Germany may be 
seen from the fact that 22 dredges, 2 tug-boats, 100 barges, 
and 1000 labourers are engaged in the industry. The area 
of the amber-field is extensive, and the Government derive 
from it a yearly rent of 72,200 thalers. 

The trade, which had languished in 1868 and 1869, 
regained much activity in 1871. England, France, and 



47^ The Comme7xial Products of the Sea, 

Austria took large quantities in the rough state to be 
worked up. The demands of Japan and China were also 
considerable, and the clear amber sought for by those 
countries became deficient, notwithstanding the develop- 
ment given to the extraction. They were not content with 
collecting amber formerly rejected on the shore. At 
Konigsberg, pits of 300 feet depth were dug ; 500 work- 
men, steam-engines, and 100 carts were engaged in the 
works. In other localities, divers and drags were employed. 
At Munich steam-engines were also used to work the mud. 

The production of amber in 1874 amounted to 363,000 
lbs., of all sizes and qualities, which was sent to different 
parts of the world. 

C. A. Wisephal, manufacturer of articles of amber at 
Stolf, Pomerania, showed at the London Exhibition of 
1862 a fine set of opaque amber of the oriental style ; 
a fine set of cut pale transparent amber; three strings 
of opaque beads for African trade, one, two, and three 
strings to the pound ; 100 strings, assorted, valued at ;^230 ; 
two strings of transparent beads, eight strings going to the 
pound, at ^^3 per string ; 19 other strings at 2'js. the 
string ; specimens of cigar-holders, pipe mouthpieces, etc., 
of different shapes and sizes ; also transparent cut olive 
beads and transparent smooth beads. 

Mr. F. Nissi, of Dantzic, showed four pieces of raw 
amber, one weighing if lb., priced 2X £1^ \os., and the 
others priced at £\'^ ioj-., £12, and £<^ i^s. 

Mr. H. L. Perlbach, an amber-bead merchant of Dantzic, 
showed a rare piece of amber in point of size, form, 
and colour, three inches thick and 14 inches in circum- 
ference, weighing 12 lbs., valued at ;^6oo, and two pieces 
weighing four pounds and two pounds respectively. The 
large piece was found in an amber mine in the village of 
Gluckau, near Dantzic. 



Amber and the Amber Fisheries. 477 

Amber is found in the mountains of Sibicio, situated in 
the valley of Bugeo, Roumania. This amber is of a brown 
colour, with a great variety of shades, passing from orange 
yellow or red to black, with green tints. It is extracted in 
small quantities, and large pieces are rare. It is used for 
different objects of marquetry, the mouthpieces of pipes, 
beads for necklaces, and other small articles of luxury. 
The dust, or refuse, is used, when burned, to perfume rooms, 
the scent being very fragrant. 

Roumanian amber differs totally from the German 
amber found on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Both are 
the fossil resins of antediluvian trees, and agree in chemical 
composition, but differ in colour. German amber is found 
only of light colours — yellow, white, and pink — while 
Roumanian amber is red, pink, brown, blue, green, and 
black. These colours are frequently found mixed in a 
single piece, and we also have lumps with silver-coloured 
veins and gold specks. On account of this variety of 
colours, the Roumanian amber is highly esteemed, and the 
darker and more beautiful pieces are more costly than 
yellow amber, especially as they are more rare. 

German amber is found in the sea or in alluvial earth ; the 
Roumanian amber is only found in mountainous places and 
highlands, where it is sought and dug out by the peasants. 
The collection of amber there languishes, or, more properly 
speaking, is never conducted in a rational manner. The 
peasants being ignorant, and led only by instinct, dig here 
and there, wherever they guess that amber is to be found. 
Formerly, this amber was found in greater quantities, and 
also in much larger pieces than at present. If the search 
for amber and its collection were carried on in a scientific 
manner, by competent judges, it would prove remunerative. 

North Burmah would seem to be rich in deposits of 



47^ The Commercial Products of the Sea. 

amber. It is procured in its rough state by digging holes 
about three feet in diameter, and occasionally 40 feet in 
depth. The mines are at an elevation of about 1050 feet, 
to the south-west of the Mein Khoom plain in the Hukong 
Valley. Fifteen to 20 feet of the superficial soil is clayey and 
red, the remainder consisting of a greyish-black carbo- 
naceous earth. The amber is made into Buddhist rosaries, 
finger-rings, pipe mouthpieces, etc. The dark sherry- 
coloured amber is most highly valued there. 



I N DEX. 



A. 

Agar-agar, 324, 325 
Alva, uses of, 313 
Amber, description of, 463 
beads, 467 

dredging and diving for, 468 
in Burmah, 478 
lai-ge blocks of, 470 
relative prices of, 473 
trade, Dantzic the chief seat 

of, 473 
two classes of, 474 
uses of, 465 

Anchovies, exports from Norway, 21 

Anchovy fishery, 81 
French, 17 

Artificial pearls, 266 

Abalones, 399 



B. 

Baccalau, another name for klip-fish, 32 
Bahamas sponge fisheries, 174 

statistics of export, 177 
Balachong, 264 
Balolo, 126 
Basking shark, 229 
Beadlemer seal, 202 
Beche-de-mer, 106 
Beluga, or white whale, 208 
Benitiers of shells, 293 
Berried hen, definition of, 94 
Black coral, 440 

helmet shell, 275 
Bladder-wrack, 313 
Bleaching sponges, 177 



Blubber, 202, 205 
Boalee fish, 257 
Boat sponge, 175 
Bombay pearl shells, 377 
Bounty, French, on fisheries, 4 
Brainstone coral, 440 
Brazilian isinglass, 250 
Bull's mouth shell, 273 
Bultow fishing, definition of, 27 
Burtah, definition of, 243 
Byssus, uses of, 307 

of pearl oyster, 389 



C. 

Cameo-cutting, 273 
Capelin fishery, 127 
Cape lobster, loi 

Colony, fisheries of, 15 
Carrageen moss, 318 
Carry-way, a kind of boat, 223 
Cat-fish oil, 216 

Caviare, value of the imports, 21 
Cephalopods as food, 116 
Ceylon, imports of fish, 15 

pearl fishery, statistics of, 409, 
410 

Chank shells, 288 

China fisheries, 16 

Chinese isinglass, 253 

Chunam or shell lime, 285 

Clam shell, 281 

Clams, varieties of, 146 

Classing and value of pearls, 425 

Clovisses, 147 

Cockle shells, uses of, 299 



480 



Index. 



Codfish, mode of catching, by hand- 
lines, set lines, and nets, 34 
process of curing, 29 
Cod fisheries, number of French 

vessels employed in, 39 
Cod fishery, French, at Newfound- 
land, 17 
Iceland, 17 
of Ireland, 26 
of Newfoundland, 26 
of Scotland, quantity 
cured, 25 
Cod-liver oil, 213 

value of the imports, 21 

Cod oil, 213 

Cod tongues and sounds, 31 
Combou or kombou, 329, 334 
Commercial products, variety ob- 
tained from the sea, i 
Conch pearls, 408 
shells, 273 
Cones, uses of, 294 
Coral, Algeria, 454 

beads, 442, 447, 456 
classification of, 455 
commercial varieties of, 443 
composition of, 438 
exports from Sardinia, 449 
imports into England, 446 
France, 445 
United Kingdom, 
460 

Indian trade in, 461 
value of the imports, 21 
Coral fisher}% 450 

boats employed in, 458 
Cornish sardines, 64 
Cowries, African trade in, 269 
as currency, 279 
commercial uses of, 277 
value of the imports, 21 
Crab-pots, 93 
Crabs, how sold, 93 

in Norway, loi 
Crin vegetal, 313 
Crustaceans, 90 

" Crown full," definition of, 47 
Cummelmums, 264 
Cup-shaped sponges, 168 
Cuttle-fish dried, 1 16, 120 
bone, 121 



D. 

Diving-bells for sponge fishing, 190 
Diving for pearls, 427 

for pearl shells in the Pacific,v 
386, 394 
Dog-fish skins, 262 
Drift-nets, 49 
Dugong oil, 209 
Dulse, 336 
Dun-fish, 31 

Dutch herring fishery, 54 
Dyes from the mollusca, 303 



E. 

Ear-shells, 372, 398 
Egyptian pearl shells, 378 



F. 

Fish as food, 9 
bones, 257 

fresh- water, sold in Paris, 18 
flour, 264 
guano, 154 
hooks of shell, 297 
inexhaustible supply of, 5 
maws, eastern trade in, 256 
number of species known, 3 
oils, 153, 212 
oil soap, 224 

parts of, employed' in arts and 

manufactures, 2 
paste, 264 

products and their uses, 257, 
264 

scales, uses of, 154 
skins, uses of, 153 
supply to London, 7 
value of imports in the United 
Kingdom, 21 
Fish skin, applications of, 259 

leather, 259 
Fisheries, French, 17 
Irish, 12 

of North America, 13 
value of exports of British, 

statistics of those of foreign 
countries, 21 



Index, 



Fishery products, imports of, in 1870, 
21 

French fisheries, value of, 1 7 
herring fishery, 57 
fishery, boats employed, 18 

Fur seal, 203 



G. 

Gall of the carp used as a dye, 152 
Galuchat, 263 
Garoon shell, 286 
Garum, 265 

Gelose, or seaweed isinglass, 324, 

327, 328, 335 
Gilbackre isinglass, 251 
Glove sponge, 159 

Green snail shell of commerce, 293, 
399 

Grotto shells, 299 
Guanine, 266 



H. 

Hake, 251 

Halibut, 128 

Hard head sponge, 175 

Hard-shell clam, 146 

Harp seal, 202 

Helmet shells, 273 

Herring brands, definitions of, 47 

fisheiy of France, 56 

of Holland, 54 

of Norfolk, 47 

of North America, 58 

of Norway, 58 

of Scotland, 43 

oil, 218 

Herrings, exports from Norway, 21 
statistics of cure and export 

from Scotland, 46 
weight of, sent per Great 
Eastern, 51 
Hood seal, 202 



I. 

Iceland fisheries, 36, 38 

Imports of the fisheries, statistics of, 1 1 

Indian fish oils, 216 



Indian isinglass, 243 
Iodine, 313 

Isinglass, description and preparation 
of, 238 
value of our imports, 21 



J. 

Japan seaweeds, 329 
Ju-ka, 254 

K. 

Kabiljauw, 256 
Kelp weed, 322 
Keratosa, 160 
King-crab, 90 
Kippered herrings, 51 
Klipfish (dried cod), exports from 
Norway, 21 



L. 

Last of herrings, definition of, 52 
Laver, 336 

Leather from fish skins, 153 
Lobster canning, or tins, 96 
pots, 97 

spawn, use of, 94 
fishery in Norway, 99 
of America, 95 
Lobsters, curious names for, 92 
British, 91 

exports from Norway, 21 
statistics of exports from 
Norway, 100 
Lofoden fisheries, 36 
London, fish supply to, 7, 10 
Louar oil, 217 



M. 

Maara shells, 387 
Machorian isinglass, 251 
Mackerel, commercial classification 
of, 72 

fishery, British, 67 

French, 17, 68 

North American, 69 

Norway, 68 

2 I 



482 



Index. 



Madrague, definition of, 89 j 
Madrepore for paving and building, | 
152 

Manatus, 209 

jNIanila pearl shells, 378, 385 
IMarine salt, 339 
silk, 306 
Matanza, definition of, 86 
Maties, definition of, 47 
INIedicinal uses of shells, 302, 303 
jNIenhaden fish preserved in oil, 81 
oil, 221 

i\Ioss-bunker, or menhaden, 81 
Mother-of-pearl, applications of, in 
Chma, 397 
articles made of, 371 
British imports, 382 
Mother-of-pearl shells, commercial { 
varieties of, 377 j 
from Western Aus- 
tralia, 395 
value of our imports, 
21 

Mussel fishery of France, 18 
shells, uses of, 298 

N. 

Nautilus shells, 296, 301 

Nets, size and kind of, 49 

Newfoundland cod fishery, 26 

Norfolk herring fishery, 48 

North American fisheries, 13, 14 

herring fisheiy, 58 
isinglass, 251 

Norway cod fishery, 32 

herring fishery, 58 

Nuoc-mam, 265 

O. 

Octopods, 117 
Oils, fish, 153 

from marine mammals, 198 
Opercula, uses of, 302 
Orchella weed, value of the imports, 21 
Organ-pipe coral, 440 
Ormer shell, 398 
Ottoman sponge fishery, 183 
Oolachan oil, 154, 219 
Oyster fisheries, American, 139 
British, 131 



Oyster fisheries of France, 18, 135, 
138 

Oysters of Australia, 144 



P. 

Painter's mussel, 269 
Paires doubles, 147 
Palolo, 121 

Panama pearl fishery, 420 
pearl shells, 378 
Papier-mache work, 381, 400 
Paris, consumption of fish in, 19 

of oysters in, 135 

Pearl buttons, 372 
Pearl fisheries, 402 

of Western Australia, 
427 

of Persian Gulf, 418 
of Ceylon, 409 
of Panama, 420 
Pearl inlaying, 381 

mussel, Chinese, 411 
Pearls, commerce in, in England, 403 
classification of, 417 
imported into France, 418 
from Labuan, 424 
from Pacific Islands, 424 
quantities of, 405 
used by the North American 

Indians, 420 
value of the imports, 21, 418 
various colours of, 405 
Pilchard fishery, 60 
Pilchards cured in oil as sardines, 64 
statistics of catch and ex- 
ports, 63 
Pilgrim shells, 398 
Pink pearls, 408 
Piracuru fish, 250 
Poggies, a kind of fish bait, 71 
Polypi, 117 
Pomfret, 130 

Porgy, a name for the menhaden fish, 
221 

Porpoise oil, 208 
Prussian amber, 465 



Q. 

Queen conch shell, 273, 293 



Index. 



483 



R. 

Raii-cau, 325 

Ray skin, 262 

Razor clam, 146 

Reef or fine toilet sponge, 1 75 

Ribbon isinglass, 251 

River pearls, 428 

Rouen oil, 1 54 

Roumanian amber, 477 

Round clam, 146 

Russian isinglass, 241 

S. 

Saddle Rock oyster, 142 
Salmon, aggregate value of British 
and Irish fisheries, 74 
as food, 6 

in British Columbia, 76 
statistics of London sales, 74 
Salmon fisheiy, 73 

in New Brunswick, 75 
in Norway, 75 
Salt in Australia, 348 
in Austria, 344 
in California, 344 
in Cochin China, 347 
in India, 346 
in Portugal, 345 
in the United States, 344 
manufacture in France, 339 
Sandre oil, 215 
Sankka or shell bracelet, 291 
Sardine fishery of France, 17, 77 

oil, 217 
Sardines, American, 81 

used as manure in Japan, 81 
Sawfish, oil from, 216 
Scabeccio, definition of, 87 
Scales of fish, uses of, 258 
Scallop shells, uses of, 298 
Scotch pearls, 429 
Seal fishery, 199 

oil, 200 
Seal skins, 202 

exported from Norway, 21 
value of the imports, 21 
Sea-urchins, 121 
Seaweed and its uses, 311 

collection of, in France, 317 
in Japan, 317 



Seaweed for manure, 314 

as food, 321 
Seer-fish, 130 
Seine nets, 62 
Sephen skin, 262 
Sepia, 303 

Shad fishery in North America, 60 

Shagreen, 263 

Shaiik or chank shell, 289 

Shark skin, 261 

Shark fins, 235, 237 
fishery, 226 

Sharks, varieties of, 226 

Sheep-wool sponge, 1 76 

Shell bangles or bracelets, 2S8 
cameos, 274 
fish-hooks, 297 
sand, 285 

Shells as currency, 278, 281 
calcined, 270 
composition of, 268 
domestic uses of, 297 
sales of, in London, 271 
useful applications of, 270 
value of British imports, 287 

Shrimp fisheiy, English, 102 

Shrimps, dried, trade in, 104 

Silicious sponges, 194 

Singapore, imports offish, 15 

Slips, a name for soles, 129 

Snoods, definition of, 27 

Soles, 129 

South Sea pearl shells, 377 
Spent fish, definition of, 47 
Spermaceti or head matter, 205 
Sponge, chemical analysis of, 178 
descriptions of, 155 
fishery of Tunis, 190 
for stuffing beds, 1 78 
value of imports, 21 
Sponge fisheries, American, 170 

of the Bahamas, 174 
Sponges, commercial grades of, 159 
cultivation of, 182 
French classification of, 193 
imports of, from the Mediter- 
ranean, 192 
scientific divisions of, 156 
of the Mediterranean, 183 
Soft clam, 146 
Spring herrings, 52 
Squids for fish bait, 120 
Stock-fish or round-fish, 32 



Index. 



Sturgeon, 240, 253 
Suleah fish, 243 
Sulu pearl shells, 377 
Swordfish, 118 



T. 

Tangle, 336 

Tiger cowry, 279 

Tinned lobsters, 96 

Tongues, a name for soles, 129 

Tortoiseshell boats, 360 
combs, 358 
British imports, 363 
description of, 35 1 
imports into France, 364 
manufacture, 3^4 
value of the imports, 21 

Train oil and blubber, 205 

exported from Norway, 21 

Trawlers, number of, in the British 
seas, 8 

Tree oysters, 421 

Trepang fishery, 105 

mode of curing, 112 
varieties of, 107, 108, 1 14 

Tmmpet shells, 286, 299 

Turbo shells, 300 

Turk's cap shell, 294, 400 



Tunny fishery, 83 
oil, 85, 218 
Turbot, 130 

Turtle, edible or green, 364 

Turtle eggs, 368 

modes of cooking, 366 
Tuticoriii pearl fishery, 413 
Tyrian purple, 304 

V. 

Velvet sponge, 175 

Venetian shells, 277 
i Vesiga, definition of, 242 
' Vog, definition, of, 36 

I W. 

i Walms, 204 
I Wampum, 281 

I Whalebone or fins, imports of, 206 
j Whale fishery, 204 

or train oil, value of imports, 
21 

Western Australian pearl fisheries, 427 
West Indian isinglass, 251 
W^ool sponge, 159 



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